A Safer Tomorrow
by Nyssa Mathews
Summary: 3x21, Caroline is ensnared in Alaric's trap for Elena. Klaus first secures her safety, surprising her when she finds comfort in his embrace, then rushes off to end the threat to his own existence, a fight she is determined to help him win. There is no clear victor as of yet, but the enemies will become allies and she struggled with the feelings that she's been keeping secret.
1. Chapter 1

**SO TAKING OVER WHERE 3X21 LEFT OFF, WHERE KLAUS/CAROLINE SHOULD HAVE GONE WITH THIS….1****ST**** FANFICTION & AM TRYING SOMETHING NEW, BUT I WOULD APPRECIATE THE REVIEWS. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT INTENDED**

Caroline's mind was reeling, grasping at a single word and chanting it over and over. _Safety_. Klaus stood behind her, his arms protective bands encircling her waist. She could only close her eyes, relieved to finally be safe, surprised to find that Klaus was her haven, and pushing back the choking sobs that threatened to overcome her.

Raw but firm, his voice washed over her, penetrating the haze of fear and pain wrapped about her thoughts. He was ordering her home, and longingly, she thought of her room, a comfortable and plush bed she could crawl into, curl up under the blankest, and hide from the world in.

"Do you understand?" He forced her to face him then, his blue gaze searing her. She nodded and all she could manage to say to her savior was a simple, heartfelt thank-you. He stared a moment longer while she gathered her emotions once more so he wouldn't see her cry, wouldn't know how tempted she was to throw herself into his arms, her face to his chest, and cry despite him being the nightmare that had haunted Mystic Falls. More than anything, he could never see her scared, or all would be lost. She wasn't strong as he though because all she wanted was to run. Run from the hunter, the school, the constant blood bags, but mostly, from the eternity that stretched before her now frozen lifespan.

In a blur, he was gone, and instinct sent her in the opposite direction. She hoped, prayed, that he came out alive.

Klaus could only hope the same. Facing off the Original hunter was surely the stupidest idea he had ever partaken in. For reasons his hybrid self did not wish to dwell on, the same reasons his human self was all too ready to admit to, he was glad he'd agreed to march into that school. His heart had ached at the sight of her, a vervaine burn stretching across her pale cheeks, blood smeared across the back of her hands where her body had yet to heal the holes pencils had created. Her terror had been almost tangible, rolling off of her in waves. Her eyes had looked bleak, as if life was slowly being ebbed from her.

With renewed energy to match his animosity, he sprinted towards the sound of Alaric's struggle with the Salvatore brothers and Elena's human pumping heart. The brothers were technically dead when he arrived, though they wouldn't stay that way for long seeing as they were vampires. Necks snapped as easily as twigs, the brothers were crumpled on the floor, Elena sobbing from her position against the lockers. Klaus charged him, digging his fingers into the other vampire's chest and striking inhuman blood. Slowly, the desiccation seemed to flow from his own veins as the Bennett witch uttered her magic in a far removed place, tunneling into the history teacher. Alaric growled, using one hand to clobber Klaus on the back of the head, the other to pull himself away. Blood contact was broken. Alaric's stake materialized in his hand, produced from a hidden coat pocket, and with all of his might, Alaric threw him to the ground, cracking the flooring. The wooden point poised just above his heart, Klaus forced every supernatural muscle in his body to fight, but still found himself watching as it was brought ever closer. For a second, he was a washed with the certain knowledge of an unavoidable death like he'd never imagined.

Caroline could though. She could very well understand the pure hatred Alaric possessed and the unspeakable deeds he was capable of seeing as she had just escaped from the man. She could only imagine the relish he'd derive from plunging a stake into the Original. Outside, she'd arrived at her car, the keys still abandoned on the pavement where she'd dropped them as Alaric had taken her. She knelt to retrieve them, toying with the edge of one of the gold keys. All silent, she glanced back over her should at the school.

"I am too nice of a person!" She grumbled, tossing the keys back to the ground and heading inside. Alaric was strong, nearly infallible, she already knew. But the sight of him pinning Klaus to the floor, ready and able to stake him, was a shock to her system. Klaus had always seemed to invincible, unshakable in the end. Like everyone else though, he feared. Death, loneliness, rejection. He felt these things. Maybe, somewhere deep within, he could be made to feel a selfless, unconditional love.

Intent upon murder, Alaric didn't see her coming. She slammed into his body at a supernatural speed. The breath was knocked from her upon impact, and regaining it was not an option as a large hand quickly clasped her throat, lifting her up until not even her toes brushed the floor, ramming her still healing body into the lockers. Fangs bared, eyes glowing yellow, Klaus reared up behind him. The werewolf bit wouldn't kill him, Esther would have made sure of that, but it was enough to cause him to loosen his grip, staggering back with a hand to his neck. Caroline slid to a sitting position against the lockers, coughing beside a bleary eyes Elena. With Damon and Stefan now stirring at his feet, Alaric must have realized that they easily outnumbered him, and the result would surely be desiccation. He disappeared in a flash, secreting himself away in some dark corner to await nightfall.

Caroline managed a shaky return to her feet, partly by leaning on the lockers, partly because Klaus was steadying her with his hands on her waist.

"Careful now, love." He murmured, his eyes – dare she believe it? – tender.

"What happened? I'm supposed to be dead." Damon groaned from the floor, allowing Elena to help him sit. Caroline took the first deep breath since awaking that morning and found that her sore lips still carried the sting of vervaine. She cast a gland at the trio on the floor, then promptly passed out, her cheek hitting Klaus' shoulder as he instinctively caught her.


	2. Chapter 2

**SEEING AS I WENT OFF SCRIPT FROM THE ACTUAL TV SHOW, I'M GOING TO JUST DEVELOP MY OWN STORYLINE WITH MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS, MAKING A FEW REFERENCES BACK TO WHAT IS ACTUALLY GOING ON, BUT KEEPING THINGS GOING IN THE WAY I WOULD LIKE THEM TO GO…..**

"Why would he leave Elena behind?" Stefan wondered aloud, drumming his fingers on the wooden table top. Gathered at the Grill was a most particular group of people. Caroline, squished in between a lounging Tyler and a tense Bonnie was having trouble focusing in the subject at hand, instead scrutinizing Elena, who was sitting in between the Salvatores, wondering which one she was truly in love with. They were discussing in rather vague detail, in order to put off any prying ears of Mystic Falls gossipers, the events of a week ago. Klaus had up and disappeared, evidently fleeing town with his sister Rebecca and dismissing his threat to take his doppelganger with him, and forcing Alaric to follow in the dark that same night. Caroline had awoken in her own room that day after having been tortured in the school, later being told that Klaus had insisted he be the one to carry her as neither of the Salvatores had been in any condition to argue with him. Things had been nothing short of awkward. Tyler had been moving boxes at the mansion and had gotten no word of her peril until long after the fact, and even then Bonnie had had to clue him in. As it was, he seemed to be avoiding the subject all together apart from a brief inquiry after her health and a tight lipped nod when she'd replied "yes, I'm fine now." So she tried to be cheerful, alert Caroline because right now they needed to focus on Elena, who was in constant danger. How could Caroline even begin to feel sorry for herself?

"Because he's a psychopath." Damon replied to his brother's earlier query. "Klaus can't be assumed to have any logic behind his actions." Caroline lowered her gaze to the floor, remembering once again how tightly he'd held her while saving her life.

"Look," Tyler stated, "as far as I'm concerned, the further away Klaus is, the better. Let's just forget about him and move on with our normal lives."

"Dude, you're a vampire-werewolf hybrid." Damon pointed out dryly. "You're the opposite of normal."

"And what if Klaus decides to come back?" Elena interjected, glancing around the faces at the table. "We need to be ready for anything."

"Why can't we just let it be? I want to be done thinking about Klaus every waking moment!" Tyler slammed a fist into the table.

"Tyler," Caroline hedged, laying a hand on his, "I know it's hard, but—" he jerked away, effectively cutting her off.

"But what? I broke the sire bond so I could be done being messed with by him. And that's what he's doing, Caroline. Messing with us! you just don't understand what he's done to me." He strode out, brushing by Matt as he meandered over, dirty dishes in hand. Caroline half rose in her seat, undecided over whether to give chase, when Bonnie pulled her back with a small shake of her dark head.

"So what are we going to do now?" Bonnie asked, her real question being what would she, as the resident witch, be expected to do?

"What can we do?" Damon replied with a sigh, picking up his drink.

"We'll wait." Stefan finalized. The group nodded and mumbled their agreement. "Now let's get inside. Even if Alaric stays away chasing the Originals, we should take every precaution." They all stood. Caroline hitched a ride with Bonnie, trying not to dwell on the fact that Tyler had left her behind once again.

"Do you think they will all stay gone." Elena, left at the table with the vampire brothers, brought herself to voice the unspoken fear turning in the back of everyone's minds.

"Probably not." Damon stood, stretched. "But it's nothing we can't handle."

"Don't be too confident, Damon." Stefan warned darkly. "Things could go bad really quickly. It's best to stay safe."

"Yeah. Safety first and all. I promise to wear a helmet, and all that good stuff. Come on." He held out a hand to the girl they both would lay down their lives to protect. "I'll take you home." She allowed him to pull her to her feet and took the jacket that Stefan handed her.

"Be careful. Both of you." She paused to meet both of their eyes before turning, leading the way out.

Matt crossed to their now empty table, loading their dishes into his black container to carry back to the dishwasher, smirking at the attempts Caroline had made to stack hers into a neat pile for him. Sometimes, he relished that he was the only normal person of the group, stressed only by his job, and below the notice of the worst of the creatures that always seemed to find their way into Mystic Falls. On that thought, he made a mental note to stop by for a chat with Tyler. The guy had been through a lot, no doubt, but even as his best friend, Matt had to wonder if Tyler could ever look passed his own struggle to those around him. Caroline, for instance, who was the very girl he had put himself through the werewolf change for, had just been through hell and the guy hadn't even stopped to consider that in his rant. Caroline had to be hurting too. Matter noticed a purse, Caroline's, slung over the back of the chair she'd been occupying. Shaking his head with a smile for her forgetfulness, he grabbed it and went to put it by his jacket to remember to return it to her on the way home.

There was no one else in the back area, where only employees were allowed. He swung open his small cubby of a locker, pausing when he heard the latch to the door leading outside life. He called out a greeting, squinting in the dim light provided by an overhead bulb.

"Hello, Matt." A voice, husky and low, replied from the opposite corner of the room. He turned slowly, his shoulders and neck tense.

"Ric." He said the name in a monotone, unsure whether to showing terror would jeopardize his own safety. Alaric took a slow step in his direction, the silver laced white oak stake clutched in the palm of his hand at his side. The skin on his face and back of his knuckles was blistered and peeling, burned by his contact with the sun without the protection of a daylight right like most other vampires in town had.

"You were a good kid, Matt. How'd you get caught up in all of this?" He started circling. "The deaths they cause, it's all around you. Like your sister Vicki."

"Leave her out of this." Matt's deep voice rang through the small space.

"Doesn't it tear you up inside? Everyday, you walk with, talk with, clean up after," he indicated the dishes outside, "your sister's murderer."

"My sister was becoming a murderous monster, trying to hurt Elena. That's not who she really was though, and not who I choose to remember her as."

"You're right." Alaric acknowledged. "Then again, they are all like that. Killers." He spat, his knuckles going white around the stake.

The door to the Grill dinged, a customer strolling heedlessly in for a late afternoon snack, no doubt. "Matt?" A feminine voice carried into the room, causing Alaric to bear his fangs. "I forgot my purse and—" Caroline gave a sharp cry as the spotted the two. She was back out the door in a second, Alaric hot on her heels. Matt took the opportunity she had afforded him and slipped out the back door, into blinding sunlight and safety.


	3. Chapter 3

**THANKS FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS, GUYS! I'M TRYING TO STAY TRUE TO THE CHARACTERS, SO BE PATIENT FOR IT ALL TO WORK OUT, WHICH IS OF COURSE WILL IN TIME**

The brush slipped into the deep purple paint and gently withdrew, but it hovered uncertainly over the canvas, hesitation that was an unwelcome discovery. With an irritated growl, the artist sent the brush flying, a purple smudge marring the wall where it hit. He upturned the blank canvas on its wooden easel, reaching for the paints next.

"Nik?" Rebecca appeared in the doorway, already dressed as if she expected they'd have to leave again at a moment's notice. "Nik, what's wrong?"

"How dare she interfere?" Klaus yelled, _she_ meaning none other than their murderous mother. "I am indestructible! She cannot bring me low!"

"We are still alive, still together." His sister reminded him quietly, watching him throw pained eyes. "She has yet to win."

"But will she never quit torturing us for the sin she has laid upon us?"

"Shall we run then? Run somewhere where even her creation cannot chase us?"

"I am the Original Hybrid!" He boomed then lowered his voice to a husky rasp. "I have nothing to fear, no one to run from!" With a flick of his wrist, red paint smashed into the wall, dripping down like the blood they desperately needed to survive.

"You will be killed, and me along with you." She gasped, falling back a step in her high-heeled boots, knowing from experience how volatile he was when in a rage. Last time, she had ended up locker up in a coffin, a dagger trapped in her chest for decades.

"Don't be reckless, brother." A new voice spoke quietly but firmly from the doorway to the foreclosed mansion they had temporarily taken as their home in a town located miles and miles away from Mystic Falls.

"Elijah." Klaus' voice was deceptively calm and soft. "Do not make the mistake thinking that you hold any sway over me."

"Of course not. We all know that you are the strongest of us all." He leaned against a wall, his voice completely sincere despite the scold to it. "But it seems we all have the same problem trying to hunt us down."

"Our mother is getting creative. And dangerous." Rebecca observed.

"She is dead. Let her try and come back now." Klaus cast a hateful glance towards the coffin, tucked into the corner of his room where he could keep an eye on it at all times despite the fact that he knew there was no coming back from death this time.

"Best we not tempt her." Elijah replied all the same.

Esther's creation no longer required her guidance, however. Alaric hunted by his own rage, by his own will. Whatever her purpose had been, she had been successful before dying. In his pursuit of the ultimate revenge, or justice as he would like to believe, any pain was tolerable, any feat do-able. It was this searing faith that had him scorching in an afternoon sun, at last a mile from the Grill, Caroline Forbes quickly out distancing him.

Her blonde curls whipping behind her, legs pumping so quickly beneath her that even her high heels made no sound upon the pavement, she stopped at the first house that popped into her mind. "Elena!" She hollered, swinging open the front door and letting herself in without awaiting a response. "Are you home?" Not knowing whether Alaric would brave the sun this far, but not wanting to risk it, she slowly backed away from the closed door, trembling the slightest bit.

"Caroline?" Elena called from the top of the stairs, her clothes covered in green paint. "What's wrong?"

"It's Alaric! He's back, Elena!" She rushed up the stairs to her friend to embrace her, not caring if she got paint on her clothes.

"Call Stefan." She replied, pulling out her phone and hitting speed dial. "He's on his way." She told her after a garbled conversation that Caroline had been too distracted to bother listening to. Something jolted into the front door, causing both of them to jump and nearly tumble down the stairs in each others' arms.

"Caroline!" Stefan threw open the door, revealing a very sunny and Alaric-free porch. "Did he hurt you?" Caroline heaved a sigh, letting both of them check her over for wounds.

"No, no I'm fine. I just…I just saw him and ran. Matt!" She suddenly exclaimed. "I just left him. How could I do that?" She moved as if to go back for the boy, but was restrained by Stefan.

"He's fine. He just called me, worried about you." Her legs gave out, forcing her to sit down hard on the steps. She took quick shaky breaths.

"Elena, how am I ever going to get passed this?" She asked, although she didn't seem to expect an answer. School had continued as normal over the past week, the mass of students flocking into the classrooms completely unaware of the bloody, live altering experiences that had occurred there just over the weekend. Caroline had yet to return, unable to force herself through the front doors no matter the number of times she marched herself up to them. Quite often, she found herself sitting dejectedly outside on the grass, glaring at the metal doors as if they were barring her from entering. Her friends always came out, walking and laughing as if nothing had changed in that eternally haunting building, carrying her homework for the day. She would go back, she convinced herself daily, but always found an excuse to postpone her return for a little while later.

"So," Damon strolled in through the open door, his hand in the pockets of his leather jacket, "I heard that Alaric-the-Ripper is back in town." He came to sit beside Caroline on the stairs, giving her a curious look as she slouched against the wall. "What's with you, Blondie?" she just shot him an angry glare, though the effect was rather pitiful. "Anyway," he continued, turning away, "I am wondering what he was doing this whole week if not trying to kill off our entire blood line?"


	4. Chapter 4

**THIS CHAPTER HAS A LITTLE LESS CAROLINE OR KLAUS, BUT FOCUSES A BIT ON THE ACTUAL CONFLICT AND HER FRIENDS**

Elena Gilbert was many things, a doppelganger, a teenager, hopeless caught up between two completely different men to be sure, but certainly never a coward. She couldn't count the number of times her life had been on the line, as it was preferable to loosing yet another dear friend. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she acknowledged the fact that Stefan and Damon would always come, no matter the danger, so rushing heedlessly into peril was far easier than it should be.

Stepping out, onto her own sunny white porch, refusing to cower in her own home, was Elena's own little rebellion against fear. She took a deep breath, starting down the short flight of stairs as she dug her phone out of her purse. Pain suddenly exploded in her side, something blunt and heaving digging in. When she opened her eyes again, it was to find herself sprawled across the green lawn, blood seeping through her shirt. A woman appeared above her, red hair frizzy about a flawless face, eyes yellow.

"You're a hybrid." Elena gasped, clutching her side and using one arm to inch away. "Why is Klaus doing this?" She realized that a hybrid could have only one reason to attack, that being that Klaus had ordered it. But they all had though he of all people would protect her and her precious blood that was a necessity to the creation of hybrids.

"Don't say that name!" the woman shrieked, clasping her hands over her ears. "I hate him! He did this to me!" She hissed, fangs bared.

"What about the sire bond?" Elena asked in dread, knowing that it could possibly be her saving grace. The woman laughed humorlessly.

"Not all of us just fall to his feet in gratitude. My pack may follow him around like drooling puppies, but I'd just love to tear his heart out." She seemed to be relishing the idea as she spoke.

"There are hybrids out there who never develop a sire bond?" She was determined to discover all that she could in the next few minutes, not knowing what information could potentially save their lives later.

"And we want the Originals dead. I want to torture them first though." She flashed closer to Elena, skinny fingers wrapping around her throat with enough strength to bruise the delicate skin instantly. "Maybe killing the blood-bag will force Klaus to make an appearance for the show." She squeezed, chuckling while Elena choked. Gather the strength she could, Elena slapped her hand, bloodied from the cut in her side, against the hybrid's cheek and dragged her nails across. A scream pierced the air and she could breathe again.

"I should kill you." The red-head planted a foot in Elena's stomach, the scratches healing almost immediately. "But Alaric says we need you." A lack kick and then she was gone. Elena repeated the name to herself as she managed her way back into her house, where no vampire could attack her. She called her brother's name, but received no answer.

"Jeremy! Please be home!" Nothing. Pulling out her phone, she hobbled to the bathroom. "Damon!" She exclaimed in relief when he answered. "I'm worried about Jeremy. He's not here."

"He was working today." Damon replied.

"I was afraid of that. What if Alaric tries to get to him at the Grill, like he did with Matt." She finished with a sharp intake of breath as she peeled back the fabric of her blue shirt to reveal the surprisingly neat slash through her skin. Had she been hit by a rock? Naturally, Damon's ears picked up on the subtle sound.

"Where are you?" He asked alertly, noises in the background indicating that he was already shrugging into his coat.

"At home." She replied, having expected the question. "Damon. I know what Alaric has been up to and it's bad. Really bad."

"We'll take care of it." He reassured her.

It didn't take long to arrange a meeting at the little house. Elena cleaned up her wound the best she could, wrapping a white bandage about her small waist and covering it with a fresh shirt. Stefan was the first to arrive, his brow furrowed with his concern.

"Damon said you might be hurt." He said without preamble.

"Just a scratch. I'm fine." She stood back to allow him inside.

"Do you want me to take a look at it?" He offered, but she shook her head graciously. The rest trickled in over time, one by one, except Tyler and Caroline who arrived hand and hand. Damon was the last, forcing a sulking Jeremy, still in his work uniform, along.

"What's the emergency?" Bonnie started, crossing her arms impatiently. Her black hair was curled and her tapping foot clad in heels.

"Are you and Jamie dating now?" Caroline asked, taking one look at the date-night type outfit. Bonnie blushed slightly.

"Let's just focus." Jeremy interrupted, obviously uncomfortable discussing his ex-girlfriend's love life.

"Alaric, it seems, has been a busy guy." Damon stated, motioning for Elena to explain further.

"I think he's been gathering hybrids who aren't loyal to Klaus." She said.

"Who broke the sire bond?" Tyler put in.

"I don't believe so. I mean ones who never developed on. They are like the exactly opposite."

"They must hate Klaus." Bonnie observed.

Tyler was still struggling to comprehend the idea that there were other hybrids who, like him, chose to not obey Klaus's whim. Whatever these people were caught up in now, they couldn't possibly be the bad guys. They were against the biggest of the bad guys, which made them the good guys, right?

"This is great!" He exclaimed, only to draw back when he was skewered by dark looks.

"Alaric having an army is not great." Elena said pointedly.

"Hybrids free of the sire bond though!" He failed to understand how the silver lining to his very existence could be such a threat.

"Unfortunately, that's the problem at the moment." Stefan added. "It is giving Alaric the ability to kill off our entire line."

"An idea I'm not very fond of." Damon's voice dripped of his usual humor.

"I have to find them, talk to these people." Tyler decided, moving towards the door.

"And if they don't agree with you? If they don't listen?" Stefan asked.

"They will." He replied confidently, darting out of the house. The Salvatore brothers exchanged knowing looks.

"Something tells me that we are going to need a little more reassurance than the boy ban wanna be." Damon remarked. Caroline rolled her eyes, feeling the need to defend her boy friend, but too worried about his safety to manage any sort of witty come back, then left as well, though the others were fairly certain it was not to follow Tyler. He was headed directly in the direction of her tormentor and she chose instead to head home to the safety of her bed room and await his return for news. Bonnie soon followed, already late for her date with one of the few normal guys in town, which had Jeremy brooding in his room only moments later.

"I'm going to work on a back-up plan." Stefan declared. Elena sat down, weary.

"You mean Klaus." She interpreted. "You think he'll be upset that his hybrids have anything to do with his enemy and it will force him to take action that works in our favor."

"It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"We spend all of this time trying to rid ourselves of him, only to find that the weapon used to kill him is even worse, and in the end will kill anyone who stands in the way. Nothing is every simple anymore."

"Where's the fun in simple?" Damon commented, smirking. "It's being handled, so don't worry about it. Now about that scratch on your side." He crossed the room to her and sank to his haunches beside her chair.

"I already said I'm fine." She told him, casting a glance at Stefan.

"Please, spare me your excuses. I could smell the blood from across the room." Without waiting anymore for her permission, he lifted the side of her shirt, ignoring the way she stiffened when his knuckles brushed her bare skin under the bandage. "Don't ever be a nurse." He grimaced at the wrapping, slowly unwinding it from about her. "I'll take care of it." Stefan lowered his gaze to the floor, clearing his throat repeatedly. Elena sought to fill the suddenly awkward void that had fallen throughout the room.

"Why did that hybrid not kill me? It would make it easier to target Klaus. What does Alaric need me for?" Damon finished his thorough examination of the scratch, puckering his brow.

"Well," he stood and walked to the kitchen, his voice carrying back to them in the living room, "it might have something to do with Esther's witchy mojo." Triumphantly, he came back carrying a bottle of whiskey from Alaric's old private stash as well as a new bandage wrap.

"You're going to get me drunk?" She asked skeptically.

"No. I'm going to get me drunk." He replied, unrolling the bandage, "Anyway, obviously Alaric needs you to be alive. Obviously, this has something to do with Esther's grand plan. Did she say anything about how this magic worked to make him an Original?"

"Just that he was going to be strong and fast. And that after he was done, he would die." Her voice roughened a bit but she forced herself to continue. "How can she control that?"

"We'll just have to visit our friendly neighborhood witch for that answer." Damon replied. "What do you say, brother, to a little chat?" He turned around and for the first time, they both realized that Stefan had quietly quit the room some time ago to begin the pursuit of Plan B.


	5. Chapter 5

WOW! CRAZY SEASON FINALE! UNBELIEVABLE! KLAUS CAN FINALLY BE WITH CAROLINE! BUT HIS ACCENT IS GONE WHICH REALLY PUTS A DAMPER ON THINGS...ELENA TECHINALLY CHOSE STEFAN FOR A NOW INVALID REASON & WILL BE FORCED TO RECONSIDER SEEING AS THE WHOLE BEING A VAMPIRE WILL CAUSE COMPULSION TO WEAR OFF & SHE WILL REMEMBER THAT TECHNICALLY, DAMON DID COME FIRST, BUT THEN AGAIN BEING A VAMPIRE IN AND OF ITSELF IS JUST A MIND BLOWING TWIST.

ANYWAY….TIME FOR THINGS TO PICK UP WITH MY VERSION. CAROLINE IS STILL TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH TYLER REMEMBER?

They were sitting in her bedroom, the door open but the house empty as Sheriff Forbes had official business to attend to. Sunlight streamed in the windows, creating a far more cheerful atmosphere than was appropriate for the circumstances Mystic Falls currently found itself in. Her hand, limp and cold, rested in his, her eyes large as saucers, useless stuttering escaped from her lips as he waiting for he had said to sink in.

"Tyler." Was all she had been managing for the last few seconds.

"I know you're shocked." He tried to comfort her. "But, Caroline, these are hybrids just like me!" The excitement in his voice couldn't be contained inside. "Roughly, she pulled her hand from his and paced a few yards away.

He'd returned from his search a mere hour ago. The hybrids had welcomed his curiosity, but laughed when he'd tried to pry them away from Alaric's dangerous allure. They were out for Klaus' pain, and he was jealous not to play a part in it.

"You can't just drop all of your friends to go join some creepy hybrid cult." She finally exploded.

"I'm trying to help them." He leapt to his feet. "And it's not a cult!"

"They work with Alaric." Her voice dropped dramatically. "How can that ever be okay?"

"I'm not going for Alaric." He missed the fear that showed in the bright blue of her eyes, the way her breath hitched at the mention of the man. Memories assailed her. Vervaine burning through her skin like a million fiery needles, merging with the salt of her tears as they rolled unheeded from her eyes. In the back of her mind, Caroline realized that there was nothing Tyler could do that would make this acceptable. No matter his reasons or his hopes for the plan, Alaric would always be a monster to her. He had broken a sire bond, of which Klaus still had not realized,only to be urged by his overwhelming anger to seek out a new one.

Some nights, in the quiet peace of her room, alone, Caroline Forbes would lay down in her bed and hug an old stuffed animal close, seeking its pretense of comfort that had existed since her childhood. When she closed her eyes, she liked to believe that there was someone out there that she could count on completely, and that there was nothing to fear that night as she slept or when she woke up in the morning because those problems would be solved for her. Realistically, she crusaded for her own independence and as a unit, her friends and her would take on the world if need be. Lately, she'd fall into a deep slumber with a content and reassured mind. But it wasn't because there were no problems or that she had even escaped any of them. What scared her the most about those nights was the with a picture of blue eyes, blonde curls, and dimples in her mind, she slept well, knowing that she was safe for the moments at least. Klaus should have no place in her dreams though.

"I can't," She started, shaking herself free of the remembrance of his breath on her burned cheek the day he'd rescued her, "I can't be with you when you are with that…that monster!" It was as if a punch had been delivered to his gut.

"You ended up pretty well with the last monster I aligned myself with." He bit off, trying to redeliver some of the pain he was feeling. "Maybe he'll draw you another picture.

"Tyler." her face and stance softened, but he was gone in a flash and she didn't have the energy to follow, or maybe she was just done have to be strong enough for the both of them, the pillar of strength for their relationship. Feeling sapped of that strength, she crawled onto her bed, but left the covers under her as it required too much effort to wiggled in between them. How could she argue that things were differed between Klaus and her? She wondered to herself as she stared at the drawing she kept on her nightstand. The vervaine, the wooden pencils in her hand, they still haunted her at night. But her savior always came for her, even though he was supposed to be her enemy. Wrapping her arms about herself, she tried to feel safe again, although that illusion had evaporated weeks ago, the day she woke up in her room after helping run off Alaric only to discover that the Originals had left town.

But the hybrids were calling for blood, and Caroline Forbes was too determined to remain strong to allow herself to break down in the middle of the day, even if she knew that no one would witness it.

It was around this same time that Stefan, miles away, strolled into the new home of the long gone Mikealsons, known to the world as the Originals. He hadn't needed to be invited in, causing the concern that Klaus may have simply killed the previous owner before taking over the house.

"It's a foreclosure." Rebecca remarked from the bottom of the stairs, seeing the way his eyes searched over the blank walls and floors. "What are you doing here?"

"Be hospitable, sister?" Elijah, polished as always in his suit, appeared in the doorway. "He seems to have come for a matter of some importance."

"I came to speak to Klaus." Stefan clarified, his voice ringing through the hollow rooms with a false confidence. Hearing the statement, Klaus came to stand beside Elijah and leaned against the door jam with his arms crossed as if he was already bored.

"How fascinating. Please, explain yourself." He said.

"Alaric is in Mystic Falls even though you're not."

"You can be sure that where ever my mother's creature is, I will be maintaining my distance from."

"The Big Bad Hybrid hiding from a fight." Stefan, imitating his brother's sarcastic goading manner, shrugged, pretending not to notice the furious way Klaus' blue eyes darkened and his fists clenched.

"I like to think of it as survival. I have hybrids to do the messy bits."

"Your hybrids? Oh yes, but what about the ones who aren't exactly loyal?"

"Nik, what does he mean?" Rebecca asked, shooting worried glances between him and Stefan, who could tell that he'd hit the right spot.

"Let's talk in private." Klaus said softly, walking away, confident Stefan would have no choice but to follow seeing as he'd come for his own purposes.

Back in Mystic Falls, the other Salvatore brother was occupied squiring about a rather stubborn doppelganger. An annoyed Bonnie had informed them that if Alaric needed her alive, than his life was most likely linked to Elena's by Esther's magic, hence the blood connection they'd made during the ritual. Damon, of course, had heard all of this from the other side of a door while cooling his heels on the front porch of the Bennett home, where he had yet to be admitted entrance by invitation. Elena had thanked her profusely, hugged the witch, and come back out to meet him. He couldn't help but a throw a disgustingly sweet wave over his should as Bonnie was sure to see him as he closed the door and it was one of his hobbies to annoy her.

"So Alaric dies if you do." Damong summarized, trying to be business like. She nodded distractedly. He searched for something to say, but was stopped by the vibrations of the phone in his pocket. He stopped short as he listened to his brother speak.

Waiting by the car already, Elena glanced back. "What's wrong?" She called.

"He's coming back." He replied grimly. "Klaus wants to meet to discuss an alliance." Her jaw dropped. "Let's call the cavalry." He resumed walking, dialing with each step.

Klaus was far more clever than people gave him credit, a fact which he found rather amusing. Travelling to Mystic Falls seemed to be a proposition riddled with fatality and he was particularly intent upon preserving himself. There, potential alliances had to be carefully weighed and considered, a process which had quickly found the Salvatores lacking. Numerous murder attempts had a way of shaking even his trust.

So, Klaus, the Original Hybrid, would not be attending any such meeting when they had the upper hand. Elijah was determined, however, to put an end to this threat, as was a troubled Rebecca. Klaus would oblige his family and attain a safer lifestyle for them. They'd been running for far too long already. Things were going to be laid down perhaps a bit differently than anyone imagined, and Klaus always had been the kind to obtain only the best of results for himself when he employed just a bit of patience.


	6. Chapter 6

**I TRIED TO MAKE THIS ONE A LITTLE LONGER. I'M SUPER EXCITED FOR THE UPCOMING CHAPTERS NOW THAT KLAUS IS FINALLY BACK IN TOWN AND CAROLINE ISN'T FEELING SO MUCH LOVE FOR POOR TYLER. NOTHING AGAINST THE GUY, BUT WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO SEE THE BIG BAD GUY FALL MADLY IN LOVE WITH THE INNOCENT AND NICE GIRL?**

"You broke up with the one person who could get us inside information about the enemy?" Damon asked incredulously. Caroline chose to ignore him seeing as he'd been repeating it to himself over and over, his voice steadily growing louder, as if trying to make himself believe it.

They were back at the Grill, dreading the arrival of the Originals, but prepared to sink to just about any level to escape Alaric's wrath. None of them had been too fond of the idea of using the Grill as the meeting point, but such an alliance had called for a middle ground. A house had been out of the question as they never would have reached agreement on which house it would be. The place had to be no one's territory, attached to neither party nor completely obscure in location. The Grill was in a central hub of town, but closed. It was just private enough for a meeting, but not enough that one could easily kill a vampire and be rid of the body before anyone saw.

"I thought you two were madly in love or something." Jeremy observed, rolling his eyes.

"Things change." She responded quietly.

"Couldn't they have changed after we took care of the psychopath who is trying to end our bloodline?" Damon rounded on her as he paced across the wood floor.

"Her love life shouldn't have to be a part of some scheme." Elena, all too familiar with being manipulated in her relationships in such a situation, leapt to her defense. A car door slammed outside and they froze, watching the door. Rebecca was the first to enter, her blue eyes sweeping over the chairs piled on top of the tables. Elijah stepped up beside her, inclining his head in greeting.

"Where is Klaus?" Damon demanded as Stefan strolled in after them.

"He doesn't trust us enough to appear himself." He informed them, sharing a speaking glance with his brother.

"Hardly surprising." Rebecca's smooth accent cut in. "Considering the efforts you have gone to in order to kill us."

"You tried to kill us first." Caroline pointed out.

"That's not what is important now." Elena interrupted before they could begin bickering. Elijah shot her an approving look.

"Miss Gilbert is correct." He said. "I believe we have a common enemy. In order to defeat him, saving our lives, thus preserving your own, we shall have to rely upon each other it seems."

"Yeah, I seem to recall we tried that before." Damon scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Elena and her aunt died, Klaus' werewolf ritual was complete, you failed to kill him and ended up daggered yourself, and I got bit saving Blondie and her boy toy. That about sum it up?" He ignored the invisible daggers Caroline was mentally shooting at him with her eyes.

"My failure to honor a deal has shamed y greatly." Elijah replied. "However, this proposition of an alliance is the key to saving my life as well as that of my siblings. Their death is a risk I will not take simply to spite you."

"We are good for the deal." Rebecca added, obviously bored as she inspected her nails. "Help us with Alaric and perhaps you all live. Even pretty little Elena." Her voice had a malicious bite to it. Damon shifted closer, partially blocking any direct path to the doppelganger.

"Or we just save the sire to our bloodline and let the rest of you burn." Damon replied with a shrug. Rebecca had her hand around his throat in an instant.

"Do you believe Niklaus then? He truly sired Mary?" Elijah questioned calmly, watching as Rebecca lifted the younger vampire to his toes.

"He may have lied." Stefan allowed. "I'd prefer not to take that chance."

"So we are agreed then." Elijah said. Rebecca tossed Damon away from her. Caroline, who had been reclining in her seat with her arms crossed as events unfolded before her, suddenly sat straight.

"Did you all hear that?" She whispered. Stefan looked to the window and made his way over. Leaning his hands on the sill, he poked his head out. A _whiz_ cut through the air as a stake just missed his heart, clattering to the floor. Tyler quickly followed it.

"The rest of you better leave." He said, his eyes on Caroline, who was now poised to run on her feet. "We just want the Originals."

"Here's the problem." Damon replied, sitting on the pool table to fiddle with some of the pool balls. " We kind of need them too and I'm not really into sharing. So go tell your little creepy hunter master that he's going to have to send a man next time to get results." Tyler scowled, changing his stance to a more aggressive one.

"Tyler." Caroline jumped between them, waiting for his attention to swing to her. "This is going to get you killed as well as the rest of us."

"Do you think I care?" He grabbed her narrow shoulders with bruising force. "We are monsters! We drink human blood. This is saving lives."

"What about our life?" She asked, her hands resting on his forearms as she realized he was too strong to be pried off.

"Caroline, we are dead. It's over already." He replied harshly. She gasped, lung locked. Returning his attention to Damon, who had yet to move as he watched the exchange, Tyler threw the blonde out of his way, barely registering the crack of her spine as she hit the wall and tumbled into a table. Damon used the corner of his sleeve to shine a ball before tossing it in the air a few times. In a flash, he'd flung it directly at the hybrid. It connected with his throat, sending him into a hunched position. Stefan appeared behind him, the broken leg of a chair sharpened to a point in hand before he plunged it into this exposed back. There was an ominous rustling outside.

"Oh, he brought buddies." Damon observed, snapping Tyler's neck and causing temporary unconsciousness.

"We should leave before one of us ends up dead." Rebecca decided.

Elena and Stefan pulled Caroline from the pile of wood she'd created when landing, each sliding under an arm to support her. They ran, spreading in every direction. Caroline healed quickly and followed Elena to her home so Stefan could see to his brother, who had taken off alone to return to the Salvatore's, a house anyone may enter without invitation. Jeremy, only seconds behind Elena in his car, was the last through the Gilbert door before it was bolted shut. Caroline quickly checked the house over for open windows or stray hybrids under the beds.

"What now?" Elena asked, curling up on the couch.

"Now, we wait for Stefan to call and tell us all is well, which he will do because he is a dependable guy. I trust him completely." Caroline ripped through the wrapping on a bag of popcorn before throwing it into the microwave.

"I know I need to pick one." Elena said quietly. "I can't have both." Caroline kept her back turned as she pulled out a large bowl.

"Which one?" Was all she said in return, fighting the urge to launch into the advice balancing on the tip of her tongue.

"I don't know. I don't want to lose either one." The popcorn was done and Caroline brought it over as the contemplated.

"In a situation such as this, there is only one thing to do." She decided. Elena raised her brows, a half smile portraying her question. "Take inspiration from the conflicted heroines of great romances." She indicated the shelf full of movies under the TV across the room. "Gone With the Wind?" Elena's mind went to Damon, the brush of their lips as he lay dying the day that movie had shown in town.

"Scarlett chose to love the wrong man and regretted it for the rest of her life." She pointed out dryly.

"Okay. Bad choice. What else? Twilight?" Elena rolled her eyes. Like they needed more vampire drama in their lives, especially a sparkly one with hair like Stefan.

"How about we just sit and talk?" She offered, turning to her friend. "It's been forever since we just talked as normal girls."

"I don't know if normal is the word. Okay, anyway. Boy talk." A glow entered her blue eyes as she awaited the thrill of inside secrets.

"Anything but my love life!" Elena laughed. "How about yours instead?" Caroline looked away, seeming conflicted.

"I think things with Tyler are just too far gone." She said simply. "But I've been having doubts for a while anyway.

"But I thought you two-"

"That's what everyone keeps saying!" Caroline cut her off, running her hands through her hair. "But why do I have to spend the rest of my life dealing with his messes? Forever is a long time, Elena, to be hearing about every complaint 24/7!"

"Won't it always be like that with anyone?" Elena questioned softly, wanting to comfort her friend. She knew how torturous immortality could be just by looking at the Salvatores, but the idea was still foreign to a human like her.

"I just want…I want someone stronger than all of the nightmares we live through." She finally admitted, dropping a head to Elena's shoulder. "Forever is so scary." She finished, not waiting for her friend to tell her that no such unshakeable man existed because she very much feared that he did and that they all already were unfortunate enough to know him.

Across town, in a dark mansion belonging to the Mikealsons, a vampire was calmly swishing a Scotch around in a glass, his manner unruffled.

"So my hybrids truly are disloyal." Klaus observed softly.

"They serve the Hunter." Rebecca said, seated across from him.

"The thing that people fail to realize is that my hybrids crave a master with a cause they can dedicate themselves to even if they don't agree with it. Those such as the Lockwood boy may believe they are free of the sire bond, but they will be consumed with rage until they find a new cause. Then they lose themselves to it completely." He smiled, a cold, humorless smile, tossing back his drink.

"What are you planning, brother?" Elijah asked, having been the one to report the night's events to him.

"Call Kol. We need greater numbers. It's time that I put in an appearance."


	7. Chapter 7

I AM THINKING OF MAYBE GOING TO AN 'M' RATING LATER ON IN THE STORY….HOW WOULD EVERYONE FEEL ABOUT THAT?

Caroline didn't stagger home until evening the next night. She had spent the night with Elena, their talk surpassing Tyler and entering into thankfully safer waters, until both had drifted off, Elena clutching a phone to her chest after Stefan had called to reassure them that all was well, a heavy blanket stretched between them on the couch. The day had been a blur of Damon's exasperating plans, broken apart by random scolds for breaking up with the inside informant. By the time the sun began to fall and each had scurried to their own homes, Caroline was exhausted. A ball of stress had settled in her stomach and her chest felt so tight drawing breath was a feat. But she pushed even that down and away, suppressing the feeling. Making it to her room, her purse and shoes dropped in the hallways somewhere along the way, she managed to wiggle into some pajamas before dropping onto the bed. Her face buried in the pillow and her arms flung out, she felt like an over-used then tossed out rag-doll.

"Long time no see, love." A smooth voice floated in from the doorway. She barely moved, turning her head just enough to see him. It pissed her off that Klaus hadn't even had to sneak into her house because her mother wasn't even there at the moment due to official law-enforcement business. It served as a cold reminder than anyone could do the same.

"Why are you here?" She asked in a small, weary voice. His expression softened and he gently reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She just watched the way his eyes seemed to absorbed in looking at her.

"I'm in town," He explained, folding a leg under himself as he sat on the bed beside her, "because I have heard some interesting news about my hybrids."

"You want to know about Tyler." She rolled so her back was facing him. "I don't have anything to say about him." A soft smile pulled at his lips and he reclined fully beside her, leaning on his elbows as he stared at her.

"I'm rather pleased to hear that, but I confess I had other reasons for returning." He shot her a look from under the blonde of his lashes.

"And what would those be?" She asked, deciding that humoring him would speed things along and make him leave all the sooner so she could be left to herself.

"You." He responded immediately. "I wanted to see you." She shut her eyes, trying to shut out the sweetness of his words. Maybe he'd think she'd fallen asleep and would leave. "Caroline, love," She felt him shift more of his weight towards her, "won't you at least look at me? I did save your life." Her eyes shot open, temper flaring as she sat up.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist bringing that up! Everything you do has an ulterior motive and saving me was no different, was it?" She knew that she was being unfair, but if she let her guard down at all then her defenses would simply crumple.

"What was my goal then? My shady motive?" He shot back.

"I don't know!" She almost yelled, not realizing how little sense she was making as she continued. "But it's not me! It's never me! It's Elena. Always her, or Alaric. I'm just not worth it." Tears threatened, a few escaping and racing down her smooth cheeks, leaving twin trails. Rather than replying like she needed him to, saying something for her anger to latch on to so she could pull herself together, Klaus just watched her fall apart. "I-I-" She stuttered.

"Hush." He whispered, laying a finger across her quivering lips. She lifted her gaze to his, her eyes bright and watery. Her lungs burned with the urge to cry, but she couldn't make herself look away. She never could understand why he always stared at her like that, so intense, as if she were a forbidden fruit. More tears spilled out. Cradling her face in his palms, he wiped them away with his thumbs. Her hand crept to the center of his chest, clenching and unclenching in the fabric of his shirt. Slowly, as if he feared frightening her, he eased his arms around her, her forehead dropping to his shoulder of its own accord. She felt him maneuver her body back into lying down, he beside her, still holding her while she soaked his shirt with her sobs.

There were some secrets that even friends couldn't be privy to. While Elena had always been completely honest about where her heart was teetering towards in reference to the Salvatore brothers, Damon and Stefan would never be Klaus. Caroline was confident that she would be staked if it was ever discovered that she had spent a night crying in their greatest enemy's embrace.

She wasn't sure at what point the tears had stopped. Her tired mind barely remembered the hard surface of his chest under her cheek, the steady rise and fall of it as he breathed. Sleep had crept upon her and he had just pulled her a little closer with the arm he'd draped about her waist. She'd awoken alone again, but there was an impression of his head on her pillow and his smell still hung in the air.

No one could ever know that she'd weakened that much, or that she'd felt a tang of disappointment when she realized that he had left before she had woken up.

Elena had appeared on her doorstep, the brave and tragic hero. There was another meeting with the Originals and they needed to get going. Riding in the seat beside Elena, Caroline strived to appear cheerful, terrified that her façade wouldn't fool anyone.

"Elena." She suddenly exclaimed, snapping out of her reverie. "It's Saturday. Why are you driving towards the school?"

"It's where Rebecca thought we should meet. She apparently had some stuff to do there anyway." She glanced over. "Will you be alright?" They pulled into the parking lot and saw Damon, leaning against his car.

"About time." He called as they got out. "Everyone is in Alaric's old room, searching for any helpful clues for how to stop him."

Caroline followed them to the front doors, breathing deeply through her nose. When Damon held the door wide of her, however, she came to an abrupt halt. Her gaze darted away, as if searching for an escape.

"Oh come on already." Damon grasped her arm and propelled her inside. He kept his hold, the only thing that kept her walking down the familiar halls.

"I can't go in there." She breathed, seeing the light on in the history room.

"Sure you can. I'll help." Damon put a hand on her back to urge her on. Practically holding her up by the time they entered, he settled her in the nearest desk seat. The room was a hive of activity, but her eyes strayed to the desk she'd been trapped in, not even registering exactly who all was in the room with her.

"We've found nothing." Rebecca complained as she appeared from the small area that was sectioned off as a sort of storage room. Klaus continued his meticulous search through the drawer filled with old slayer tools, Alaric's old vervaine bottles and crafted stakes. Elijah stopped beside a desk, _the desk_ actually, and crouched beside it.

"Interesting." He murmured, drawing everyone's attention. "This desk has been stained with blood. What do you suppose these two holes dug into the wood are from?" Pain shot through her hands as the memory assaulted Caroline.

"Honeslty, Elijah." Rebecca scolded, going to whisper the story in his ear, not that all of the vampires in the room could help hearing every word she hissed.

"Oh." Elijah stood hurriedly, ignoring the scowl gathering on Klaus' face as the hybrid abandoned his search. "My apologies, Miss Forbes. I did not realize until just now the hardship this place must represent to you." Caroline dragged her gaze to his solemn countenance, nodding slightly as she couldn't seem to make her voice emerge. She could feel Klaus' gaze searing her, but she couldn't look his way or her ever-perceptive friend would note the vulnerability she allowed him to see, no matter how she might try not to.

Klaus forced himself to focus on the task at hand, resisting the urge to rip his brother's throat out. Caroline was all but shivering with compressed and remembered fear, but he could not go to her. Until the day she came to him of her own accord, welcoming his advances, he would do as she wished and leave her more or less alone, proving that she would one day need him. He could wait her out, or so he told himself.

"It appears this has been a complete waste of my morning." He announced cheerfully. "I do have other plans, however. People to kill, hybrids to make. Busy, busy." He strolled out.

"This whole alliance thing is fun." Damon observed sarcastically. Caroline bit her lip in an effort to calm her raging emotions. A sob escaped her then she suddenly ran out of the room.

"Klaus!" She called as she made it outside just in time to see him unlocking his car. She turned slowly, a curious expression on his face. That certainly hadn't taken as long as he'd been expecting. She paused, realizing that she hadn't planned this out at all. "I just…um…could you give me a ride home? Please." His answer was to silently open the passenger door, holding it wide for her. As she slid passed him, buckling the seat belt and trying to ignore that he was giving her that look again, Caroline admitted, to herself as least, the something very big had just changed.


	8. Chapter 8

**SORRY IT IS TAKING ME SO LONG TO UPDATE! MY LIFE HAS BEEN CRAZY AND I DON'T HAVE MUCH FREE TIME TO GET THIS DONE IN. I AM STARTING TO HEAT THINGS UP WITH KLAROLINE, BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO SUDDENLY LIFT OFF FOR NO APPARENT REASON. WE STILL HAVE TO CONSIDER THE FACT THAT CAROLINE CARES DEEPLY FOR HER FRIENDS AND DOESN'T WANT TO LOSE THEM BECAUSE OF HIM, ALSO THAT KLAUS HAS LIFE THREATENING MATTERS ON HIS MIND AS WELL HER.**

The car was silent. Klaus kept his attention trained on the road, careful to keep it off of the girl at his side. Caroline twisted her fingers together in her lap, reprimanding herself for ever getting into the car.

"Would you please stop fidgeting?" He said, although it was more of a demand than a request.

"Well I'm sorry to be bothering you." She crossed her arms and turned to the window. "Actually, I'm not!"

"You delight in torturing me!" He growled, taking a corner too fast.

"Please! Like I would waste my time." The man must have done twice over the speed limit because looking out the window showed her front porch, an idyllic little house in a small town. She threw open the door, part of her hoping he got pulled over, although he would probably compel his way out of a ticket or simply kill the police officer. By the time she turned back from slamming the door shut once she'd climbed out, Klaus had flashed out and around to her side, his jaw locked and his expression murderous.

"What are you doing, Caroline?" He asked softly, caging her with her back pressed to the car and his arms blocking escape to either side as he laid his palms flat on the roof of the car.

"Trying to get rid of these feelings." She whispered, lost in his gaze, honest with him and herself for the first time in what felt like ages. "Trying to hate you." He didn't seem stunned or taken aback at all, the only movement was that of his eyes as they searched hers. She couldn't help thinking that the look in his eyes was hopeful, desperately wishing for her to be telling the truth, which she was.

"You're not going to win that battle, love." He replied, leaning in so that his lips brushed her earlobe as she spoke. Her knees nearly gave out, thinking that this was way closer than they had ever gotten while dancing. The stubble on his jaw tickled her cheek and she couldn't help but turn her head towards him just a bit. He pulled back, just a fraction of an inch. Then they were kissing and she had no idea who had started it. His lips were dry and firm on hers, nudging hers apart. One hand slid into her hair, holding her steady as his tongue slipped in, running along her teeth and dueling with hers. Her fingers gripped the lapels of his jacket while he urged her closer with an arm about her back.

He kissed her like he did everything else, taking what he wanted, demanding it, and she wished that she didn't find the feel of him so incredibly sexy. Her mind had gone obligingly blank, leaving her to postpone any guilt and get caught up in the sensations racing through her body, lust chasing a shiver down her spine. His hips ground into hers, sending a jolt of pleasure through them both. She abruptly realized that he was operating on pure animal instinct. Though he gave the pretense of control, he had only a smidge more of a grasp on his desires. She jerked back, breaking away before this got carried further than she could pull back from, and stumbled to the porch steps.

Klaus kept his back to her, leaning heavily on the car as he breathed sharply through his nose, striving for a fragment of control. They were making progress, she'd practically admitted that she wanted him, and that kiss…he smiled grimly to himself. He could be patient, but even that resolution was running thin. Jaw tense, he shot her a fiery and intensely longing look. She had her hands over her face, huddled on the steps. So he left, locking down on the disappointment gathering in his chest at each shut down.

"Shit." She whispered, a rare expletive to fall from her mouth, as she heard the car pull away from the curb. This was definitely something she would have to tell Elena and Bonnie, seeing as it was progressing into something so explosive. Besides, they had vowed years ago to let each other know when things were getting heavy with a guy so the other two could either assist or remove themselves from the situation. Somehow, she didn't think either of them would be receptive to that idea now.

She decided that Elena's house would be the perfect location for her to spill. They would have the ultimate girl's night, just like they did in the early days of high school, when all that matters was boys and nails and grades, when no one was dying and no one was killing. Bonnie arrived, a blanket and pillow tucked under her arms, curious as to why Caroline had sounded so nervous on the phone when she'd called to suggest the get-together. Patiently, her friends gathered on a heap of pillows arranged on the floor in front of the television.

"What's going on?" Elena asked. Caroline fiddled with her nail, postponing. But she admitted to herself that she would _have_ to tell them. Klaus would inevitably say or do something that would give it away anyway, whether he meant for it to be a secret or not was a mystery to her.

"I may have made-out with Klaus and I may have liked it." She said slowly, avoiding meeting their collective gaze.

"You did what?" Elena burst out. "That doesn't make any sense."

"How could you do that?" Bonnie exclaimed in much the same manner. "After everything he has put us through?" Her lower lip began to tremble just a bit, betraying a sort of anger.

"I didn't plan on it! I've been avoiding him because I know that! He tried to kill me, remember?" Caroline pointed out. "But, it just doesn't matter to me like it used to."

"You can't just forgive him!" Elena replied, reaching over as if helping a poor confused child.

"Tell me something." Caroline tried a different tack, understanding their reaction as it was so similar to what hers had been the night of the ball, when he had made that ridiculous confession of his feelings. "Why can we only forgive some people? I mean, Damon used me. He compelled me and hurt me. But I have to forgive him, for you." She looked to Elena. "He did all of that and I don't even care anymore, but you can fall in love with him after that?"

"Damon is changed though!" Elena rushed to explain. "He isn't the same person he was."

"And Stefan? He is just a great guy! I want nothing more than to see you two happy, but if we think about it, he killed so many people. He almost drove you off of Wickery Bridge, Elena, for revenge. But somehow, that's okay now too." She sighed. "Alaric killed my father. Somehow, we forgive all of this. Not Klaus though. Not him."

"Because he's a psychopath!" Bonnie shot back.

"He is going to hurt you." Elena said. "He's just using you to get to me."

"What if he's not? What if, for once, it was just me and didn't come back to being about you?" Caroline asked out loud, her tone wistfull.

"Caroline." Elena started, her expression softening.

"Look, guys, I'm not saying I want to date him or anything. Tyler and I just broke up. But you are my best friends. I need you to be there for me because I have these feelings and no matter how hard I try, they are not going away, and believe me I have tried to make them. You needed to know, but I don't know where this is even going so don't worry about it just yet."

"Yeah right." Bonnie scoffed, shaking her head.

"Bonnie. Please." Caroline said. Her friend heaved a world-weary sigh and turned back to her.

"Because it is you, I will try and not make anyone burst into flame. Now can we get back to having a normal girls' night? One without creepy hybrid talk?" They all laughed.

"Please." Caroline and Elena replied in unison.


	9. Chapter 9

**I LOVE REVIEWS…IF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS FOR THE STORYLINE PLEASE SHARE THEM BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN FINDING IT HARD TO MAKE THEM VERY LONG BECAUSE I GET A LITTLE BLOCKED SOMETIMES SO PLEASE! HELP OUT, SUGGEST AWAY, AND ALWAYS ALWAYS…REVIEW!**

Once again, sleep seemed to have eluded Caroline Forbes. For half the night, she had remained awake as she sprawled across her bed, almost expecting the elusive Original hybrid to appear in her doorway. It had been days since he'd pushed her back against his car and forced her to feel things for him that she definitely didn't want to be feeling. Then he had the audacity to practically disappear, from her life anyway. Damon apparently had been in frequent communication with him as they worked to stop Alaric. It was nearly impossible to force herself to out of bed, much less do her hair in any reasonably attractive manner each morning. For the sake of meeting her friends at the Grill that day, however, she managed.

"Does Damon know?" Bonnie asked suspiciously, darting glances over to the smirking vampire as he watched them from the bar.

"Of course not." Elena replied. "I don't want to be around for his reaction if he did."

"Are we discussing how extremely sexy I am?" The very man in question had made his way to their table, forcing Elena to make room as he scooted into the booth beside her.

"Why would we discuss that with you hanging around?" She retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Does that mean you talk about me when I'm gone?" He waggled his brows. She made a valiant effort to ignore him.

Caroline came to a stop in the doorway, spying the trio, knowing full well how easily Damon could pick up on the fact she was hiding something from him. It would seem suspicious if she just left though too. Raising her hand, she absentmindedly rubbed at one tired eye, realizing her mistake only once she pulled it away and noticed the mascara smudge.

"Here." An old fashioned handkerchief materialized in front of her. Cautiously, she accepted it, using one corner to clean up her smeared make-up.

The man who had offered his handkerchief watched intently, as if memorizing her. The man himself was stunning, if not incredibly unnerving. Thick black hair spilling over his forehead and eyes so piercingly grey they could very well have been silver. He stood with an eerie stillness, as if the need to move wasn't there and he could maintain a single pose for hours, for now keeping his hands shoved deep in his pockets and peering at her from under his lashes.

"Thank you." She mumbled, staring him straight in the eye as he was exactly the same height as her despite the fact she had chosen to not wear heels as she usually did. His only response was a slight nod, a jerky and unpracticed movement, as if he felt foreign doing it. Clearing her throat and biting her lip, she held the handkerchief back out to him, although he made no move to take it. "My friends are waiting, so thanks." She repeated, locking down on her muscles as they felt the urge to run. Another moment, all he did was blink.

Then his lips parted and he smiled, a bright brilliant flash of straight white teeth, and he slid the fine silk from her fingers' grasp.

"I'm sorry." He laughed. "I was drowning in your beauty and quite forgot myself." She smiled back, hesitantly, thinking he had an odd way of phrasing the compliment but allowing herself to enjoy the attention just a bit. "You have a nice day." He strolled out the door. In a daze, Caroline made her way over to her friends, sitting beside Bonnie.

"Who was that?" Damon asked, his voice carrying a sting.

"He was cute." Bonnie nudged Caroline in the side, most likely willing to accept anyone over Klaus in terms of Caroline's love life.

"I don't know." Caroline hedged, fiddling with her sleeve. "He seemed…"

"Creepy." Damon finished for her flatly.

"You are being paranoid." Elena laughed. "I'm sure he's perfectly normal."

Klaus was restless, had been for days. That interlude in front of the Forbes house had nearly undone all of his careful self-control, and he wasn't one to give anything that he didn't want to give. Pursuing her seemed unwise, particularly as there was an Original hunter on the loose and the last thing he needed was an obvious weakness to be pounced upon. Once again, he reminded himself to focus, putting all else out of his head. Kol was due back any day, any hour really. They needed a plan of action that would prove once again that Niklaus Mikealson was not to be trifled with. Pacing his studio, he dragged a hand through his hair, kicking at the ground.

"Brother." Elijah appeared in the doorway and Klaus turned on him with a snarl.

"What?"

"Kol just called. He is entering the state limits now. He says he has brought something along that will be of use." Unless it was a magical dagger meant to kill Alaric Saltzmen, Klaus doubted it would be anything more than completely useless.

"Tell him to hurry it up. I'm getting impatient."

"Shall I call the Salvatores?"

"No." He crossed his arms behind his back. "We need to keep it in the family for a little while before trusting those two. They might very well try to dagger our baby brother before the day is through. Damon and he have had their differences. Besides, I would like to know what this item he is bringing is before I go waving it in front of the very people who have been attempting to rid this little hamlet of my presence for so long."

"He will not arrive for a while yet. Why don't you get some sleep?" Klaus shot him a sharp look.

He was, and had been for some time, quite a light sleeper. No one in his family could remember the last time they had actually witnessed him asleep. Centuries of being the target of malicious attacks had kept him from every allowing himself to appear that vulnerable in front of anyone. Rebecka had once accused him of completely skipping sleep, suspecting his particular form of immortality made it unnecessary. She was wrong, but he rather liked that idea itself and had been known to allow that idea to circulate and take root in certain circles. The fact that Elijah suggested that he get some meant that the man knew how little he had gotten the past few nights.

"I'm fine." He replied through tight lips.

"Is that why you have been staying up until the wee hours of the morning painting pictures of that girl?" In a flash, he had a hand around his brother's throat.

"My affairs are my own. You had best remember that. Leave Caroline Forbes out of our discussions." Elijah stared at him, looking as he always did, as if he knew exactly what he was doing.

"As you wish, brother, but remember family comes first. It always has."


	10. Chapter 10

**I JUST CAN'T CONTAIN MYSELF ANY LONGER! I NEED KLAROLINE TO HAPPEN! SO FAR THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER I HAVE WRITTEN, MOSTLY BECAUSE I AM JUST SO EXCITED FOR IT BECAUSE IT IS ADORABLE AND PRETTY MUCH ALL ABOUT KLAUS AND CAROLINE FINALLY AND ACTUALLY BONDING. I AM BUSTING WITH IDEAS FOR NEXT CHAPTER BUT I WANT TO PUT THEM INTO SOME SORT OF ORDER FIRST. ENJOY! AND REVIEW, OF COURSE ;)**

The annoying buzz vibrating off her thigh awoke Caroline Forbes, pulling her from the unpleasant lingering of a nightmare she just couldn't remember now that she was awake. She rarely ever was able to remember her dreams, but she knew it had been more of a nightmare as her sheets were twisted and damp about her legs and her heart still racing. What could have been so frightening? She pushed back the heavy tumble of her tangled curls and reached for her phone. It was early evening and she was still dressed in the blue day dress she'd donned that morning. She couldn't deny that she'd been putting a little extra effort into her appearance in the hopes that the Alaric fighting allies would need to meet and Klaus would hardly be able to avoid her then. When she had dropped into her bed that afternoon after an exhausting day of shopping and laughing, generally pretending to not be obsessing, and certainly not admitting to having slept hardly at all in days, she had meant to relax and concentrate on the matter at hand, not sleep the rest of the day away. Peering at the bright screen of her phone, she noted with some surprise that it was Damon who messaged her.

There had been an attack in the woods, surely hybrids, who apparently hunted in packs same as wolves. Sheriff Forbes had been dispatched to investigate, and Caroline was being asked – although Damon's asking was surely less of a question than a sarcastic demand that sometimes could be honored with the pretense of having a choice attached to it – to pry out any information on the hybrids. Surely they had left some clue about, well, anything! The group was in the dark, at a loss to explain why supernatural creatures that were bred to serve Klaus would instead follow his greatest enemy. Klaus, ever suspicious, had volunteered no real insight to the Salvatores, – the only ones he seemed to communicate with anymore – only grudgingly accepting their aid because his siblings had begged and pleaded for their very lives.

As if on cue, her ears no doubt burning as if she knew she were being discussed, Caroline's mother was calling her. She quickly answered, sitting up straighter in her bed and brushing at her hair with her fingers.

"Hey, Mom." She greeted.

"Hey. There's been some…complications." Her mother replied without preamble. "I won't be able to get home tonight, will be spending most of my time at the station, dealing with the situation I am sure you already have heard about." Sheriff Forbes knew Damon well enough to guess at the angle he would go for in order to dig up any information. "Don't worry about me though. I want you to be careful with all of this going on."

"I will." Caroline replied, touched but still concerned. "You too."

"And sweetie, you're friend from school dropped by earlier about your project, while you were out. He said he would come back later, so don't get to cozy. I know how you teenagers are." Caroline frowned, despite the fact her mother couldn't see her.

"My friend?"

"The young man. He's quite handsome, if I recall. Black hair and gray eyes." She blanched, but said nothing, not wanting to worry her mother while she was in the woods and potential danger. After all, she was a vampire and could handle herself with overly-creepy admirers.

"Umm okay. I'll let you go now."

"Bye, sweetie. Be careful." Her mom's end of the line went dead first as she hung up and went back to work. Caroline slowly lowered the phone from her ear. The guy from the Grill. Who else could it be? But what could he possibly want? Perhaps it was her imagination, but she could have sworn that the front door was closing.

"Hello?" She called out shakily, climbing out of bed quietly. "Is anyone there?" She waited, but heard nothing. The silence made her shiver. She crept out of her bedroom and into the living room, jumping when she saw the figure reclining on the couch, heels propped up on the coffee table.

"Caroline." The man from the Grill called to her, leaning back with his arms over his chest as his gaze swept over her. "I like the dress." The way he said it made her want to toss it into a fire and never wear it again.

"How did you get in here?" She asked, keeping her distance, quite sure she could overpower and outrun him if necessary.

"Your mother invited me in earlier." He said benignly as if bored with the topic. Her breath caught. His tone implied…the way his lips formed each word deliberately saying.._mother invited me…invited_. She made a move for the door and in a flash found herself pushed against the wall, staring into yellow eyes and bared fangs.

"Hybrid." She breathed, not really sure if she was saying it out loud or just thinking it. The hands on her wrists tightened in warning, and the hybrid leaned in, putting his nose to her neck and inhaling.

"One bite," he whispered, "and I can end your pitiful existence." She shrunk away as far as the wall at her back would let her. "But Klaus would only heal you." She said nothing, merely staring at him in a paralysis.

_Klaus? _His name repeated in her mind. Why would the hybrid bite her with the full knowledge that Klaus could heal her if he so chose? He'd already done it once sure enough, on her birthday, the day that had started his whole admiration and adoration act. A despicable suspicion shot through her hazy mind. _He wanted this._ Klaus wanted her bit, wanted to make her beg him to heal her. What could possibly draw them closer, force her to put her trust in him, surely a scheme to later manipulate Elena with at some later time? She rebuked the idea at first. _He just wants me, it's not about Elena_. But being a vampire had made her many things, heightened her strength and her loyalty, as well as her insecurities that had raged throughout every relationship she'd ever had. Somewhere deep down, she was crying out because she knew that it would always be about Elena in the end, no matter how hard she tried and she would someday just have to give in to that fact. _Klaus is trying to prove something_. A voice, her own, snarled in her mind.

The hybrid left in a flash, leaving her unmarked. She slid to the floor and stared blankly ahead. It surprised her how much it hurt thinking about Klaus this way. The sharp stab of longing and sadness in her stomach had her gasping. But she refused to be quivering, poor little Caroline Forbes, who feels too sorry for herself to do anything but whine and get drunk anymore. She had been that girl, that girl who couldn't solve a problem on her own and who was desperate for attention, any attention. Determined to be strong, she hoisted herself up and squared her shoulders. Klaus had once thanked her for her honesty, well he was about to get all of it that he could handle because she had plenty to dish out.

By the time she stood before front door of the mansion, the enormity of what had almost happened in her very own home had hit her and made her whole body shake no matter how she tried to suppress it. Seeing her hand tremble as she reached for the knocker, she quickly fisted it and pushed her way in rudely, telling herself that this wasn't a social call so she wasn't required to be polite. The foyer was empty and she hadn't the foggiest idea where to begin looking. Her mind flashed back to the night of the ball, the gorgeous paintings that had been haunting her thoughts ever since he'd shared them with her. Barely hesitating, she made her way back to that room, surprised that not a single Original had appeared to wonder who was invading their home. _Maybe they aren't even home_, she thought, belatedly realizing it might have been a wasted trip.

The room was empty but for several covered canvases and papers strewn about and covered in paint. She reached out to touch the corner of a cover, pulling it back slightly and frowning as all she could see of the painting was what looked to be a tree. She didn't dare remove it further or Klaus would know she had been curious to see it. Letting the covering fall back into place, she wondered into a connecting room, slipping through a plain brown door only to stop in her tracks.

She had found him, the very man whom she had jumped into her car to come and yell and scream at. Except she hadn't expected to find him _here_. Why couldn't he have been in the kitchen, feasting on a small child, or idly painting bloody murder? She could have been angry and very very sure that she hated him then. Because it simply confused her to find him, as well as herself, in his bedroom, him lounging – fully clothes, thank goodness, although she didn't care to think on why it should really matter when she had been convincing herself that he wasn't all that attractive – on his bed with a book.

He was watching her, his book set aside with a corner of a page bent to keep his place. His eyes gleamed, not in a sexy way she reminded herself, with the knowledge of exactly what she had been doing in the other room.

"Caroline." He drawled. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" Why had she come here? Oh yes, the memory of that man in her living room, pinning her to the wall, shuddered through her and his gaze hardened when he saw.

"You have to stop him." She said suddenly, her words tumbling out in the way they do when she's nervous. She forgets that other can't read her mind, which works faster than her mouth if possible and she often times skips important details to being coherent. "It isn't funny, you can't just send him to my house! He can't…just make him stop. Make him go away. Why? I don't understand." Warily, as if approaching a caged animal, Klaus slid out of bed and made his way over to her.

"Easy, love. Tell me what's wrong." His palms rested on her shoulders, which were left bare seeing as her dress had no sleeves.

"Why did you tell him to come? To scare me? Is that it?" She whispered in horror. His lips pressed into a grim line, but he said nothing. His hands ran lightly down her arms, across the Goosebumps that had risen, and back up, as if trying to warm her. "You have to make him…" She choked a bit, dismayed at herself.

"Caroline," he said her name carefully to be sure he had her full attention as he was fairly certain that he at least some idea of what was going on, "I didn't send anyone to your house. Why would I? It happens to be the place I want to be the most, so I would likely send myself." Her eyes widened. She was confident that he was being truthful – why, she felt that way was beyond her thought process at the moment – which meant that the alternative was that Alaric had sent him and he truly could have killed her. If Klaus had sent him, surely he would not have been under orders to kill her. But Alaric would have no qualms with it, possibly even had been holding a grudge for her escape from the school and then from the Grill.

Suddenly, she felt cold, so cold. Her hands rose to Klaus's forearms to hold herself steady as her light headedness made her sway precariously. How could she possibly return home, especially as her mother wasn't there, leaving her completely alone?

"Sit down." Klaus ushered her to his bed, allowing to argument. Her feet slid out of her sandals and she curled up on top of the comforter, pillowing her head on her hand. Somewhat detached, she watched him lay down next to her, facing her but still at least a foot away. Her lower abdomen clenched and she wondered if he would kiss her again. He stared the way he always did, as if beholding something foreign to him, as if he couldn't quite decide how he felt about the unfamiliarity of it but not exactly resisting the pull. They didn't touch, she was too unsure to make the first move and he resisting on account of the shock she'd apparently been through recently. Not taking his eyes off hers, he reached his arm across her and switched the lamp off, plunging the room into darkness.

Her hand, which had been resting on her side, crept to the middle of the space between them, unconsciously seeking the comforting touch of another's warmth. She wasn't physically cold, being a vampire, but it was an emotional chill, leaving her feeling alone and scared like a child afraid of the dark. Warmth engulfed her hand as he placed his over it.

"Go to sleep, Caroline." He whispered, his voice low and gravelly like raw velvet over her skin. "I'll watch over you." She desperately wanted to believe him as she closed her eyes, her entire being focused on the ball of warmth radiating from their clasped hands.


	11. Chapter 11

**KLAUS AND CAROLINE….ENOUGH SAID. ENJOY AND PLEASE REVIEW**

Caroline honestly couldn't say what woke her. With her eyes still lightly closed, she sent her senses searching, assessing. She was still lying on her side, having moved not an inch during a night of peaceful slumber. The warmth on her hand was gone, but her senses told her its source hovered somewhere nearby. Reluctantly, she let her eyelids drift open.

Klaus lounged on his side, head propped on his closed fist, still in the clothes he'd worn yesterday, which meant he had yet to leave her side. Neither spoke or even smiled considering the situation. Slowly, as if making his intention clear with the full expectation of rejection, he reached out and laid a finger at the corner of her mouth. Because she allowed it, he began to trace her lips lightly.

"How long have you been watching me?" She asked softly. His gaze lifted from his fingers on her lips, meeting hers squarely.

"Quite a while." Came his evasive response. "I've been pondering what could possibly have sent you scurrying over last night. You were so upset." His voice roughened. "Certainly in no shape to tell answer my questions." She remained quiet at that. "Now, love, I must ask. Why are you here?" Perhaps it was the soft, compliant weight of her body or the relaxed turn of her mind that made her reply honestly with no filter to lock down her words, which came slowly from her lips due to the intimate gravity of the moment.

"The other day, I met a man." She paused, trying to decipher his impassive expression. Somewhere inside of her was the odd hope that she'd managed to make him at least the slightest bit jealous. "He was…queer, for lack of a better word. We met only for a moment before he left. But last night, my mom had to go to work, and I was by myself, and I heard the door. He just…walked in. I wanted to run, but he's fast, so fast." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "One of your hybrids." An image of yellow eyes and fangs on the smooth skin of her neck flashed through her mind. "He wanted to bite me, make you heal me. You would heal me, right?" Her eyes widened curiously. His fingers skimmed across her cheek and down to the exposed skin of her neck, rubbing away an imaginary bite.

"Can you doubt it?" He rushed on before she could reply. "Why did you come here though?"

"I was afraid you sent him. He's a hybrid. It wouldn't be the first time you sent one to bite me in order to send a message." She replied, completely and bitterly honest.

"I don't know whether to send this man a gift basket, seeing as he has been so useful as to getting you into my bed," She blushed furiously and he grinned, "or cut him into pieces for even looking at you with the intent of doing you harm." Klaus mused aloud. Caroline shifted, suddenly uncomfortable with the direction this was going. He made a hushing sound, cupping her face and keeping her facing him.

"Please don't let this be about getting to Elena." She whispered almost to herself.

"Love, this has never been about the doppelganger. It's about me wanting you for myself, wanting your light, wanting to protect everything that makes you so beautiful."

"So you didn't…" She let the sentence hang uncertainly in the air between them.

"No, love, I didn't send one of my hybrids after you. If anyone is going to come after you, it will be me and it will be in a way neither of us will mind in the least."

Silence reigned. It was a comfortable silence, brimming with unspoken emotion and longing. It occurred to Caroline that she had slept, literally, with this man at least twice in the last few weeks. Tyler had once asked why she never stayed with him, and truth be told it was because of the way she had simply jumped into bed with Damon. If she made Tyler earn her staying, maybe it wouldn't hurt so much was what she had told herself each time she'd dragged herself home to her cold bed, alone. Had Klaus somehow earned it? The bracelet, the drawing, all of it. Had that been enough for her? It made her want to shudder at her own shallowness, but she also rather believed that had only been part of it. She had never wanted to be bought, merely adored. They had been precious symbols of the fact that someone had finally seen her and wasn't easily put off.

Cautiously, she shifted closed to his warm body. His eyes flared uncertainly, watching intently as she put her hand directly over his heart, her head resting inches from it. He brought his arm down, resting his hand on her side. He feared that this was a trick and he was never one to accept being manipulated. But as she started up at him with those guileless blue eyes, his resolve melted away. She pushed with the hand on his chest, telling him that she wanted him to lay back, something she didn't have the strength to make him do without his cooperation. Curious, he leisurely turned onto his back, keeping his eyes glued to hers. Years of being hunted had made him a suspicious man, so he could never fully trust anyone, even family, but he was confident that he could easily handle any situation and win hands down.

Caroline didn't have a plan, which was unusual for her. She had no idea what she was doing or why or even how she imagined it would go. Instinct was taking over, fogging her mind but motoring her limbs. Instinct had made her push him back a bit, made her sensuously climb over his body, straddling his hips, and set her palms to the hard planes of his chest. She wanted more, so much more. The taste that he had given her outside of her house by his car had been slowly consuming her from the inside out, urging her to come back for more. Deliberately, she leaned over him, her hair falling over her shoulders about his neck and face. He brought his hands up, sliding them into the mass of curls, using them to pull her down the last few critical inches until her lips met his.

Heat shot through each of them, his tongue sliding into the welcome haven of her mouth. She could feel the intimate pressure of him though his pants against her core. She rocked her body, shivering at the friction created. His hips nudged upwards as he angled her head for a better angle. One large hand left her hair, gliding down the side of her body to the swell of her hip, holding her down against the feel of his body as his lips skimmed across her cheek, down her neck to her furious pulse, back to her ear, where he nipped lightly at the lobe. Emboldened, she skated a hand down his chest to his lower abdomen, gasping at the way she could make his muscles ripple in response to her touch. Her fingers encountered the rough fabric of the edge of his jeans.

"I'm home!" Hollered a cheerful, slightly sarcastic voice from the foyer, following the grand slam of a door. The couple froze, neither moving as they took fractured breaths. "And what a trip I had." The voice continued. Caroline dropped her head to Klaus' shoulder, yanking her hand away from him and locking both arms in an X to her chest. Still yearning, desperate for her, Klaus growled.

"Kol." He said in way of explanation, his head falling to her shoulder in much the same fashion as hers had to his. They sat slumped upon each other for a few precious moments. His hands came to rest on her thighs, most of which were distractingly bared to his view as her straddling position had caused the hem of her blue dress to rise up provocatively.

"I think I should go." Came her muffled voice. He resisted the urge to growl once again, less it become ineffective with constant use.

"Then go." He replied, lavishing a wet kiss on her shoulder. He waited for her to scramble off of him and to the door. She glanced behind her with her hand on the doorknob. He sat still, his head more or less down-bent and she couldn't held feeling that he look rather dejected and alone. "Caroline?" His head came up and his usual cocky smirk was firmly in its place of honor on his lips. "We _will _finish this soon." An irrepressible shiver of anticipation traveled down her spine to pool in between her legs.

She crept out, through the room of covered paintings, and into the foyer. Kol had apparently forsaken his baggage by the door, which he'd also left conveniently open. Almost reaching it, she nearly screamed when a figured appeared in the doorway.

"Elijah." She let out a wary breath.

"My apologies. I didn't mean to startle you." He strolled closer, no doubt curious as to why she was there.

"I was just…uhh…" She struggled to conjure up an excuse for her presence.

"There is no need to explain yourself to me." He said. "This is, after all, Niklaus' house. He may have any visitor he wishes, and I get the impression you are a rather special guest at that." She smiled weakly, having no idea what he was implying and simply desiring to exit the building before any other Originals could put in an appearance. Elijah seemed to read her mind and he courteously stepped out of her path. "I must say though, Caroline, my family has been looking over their shoulders constantly for the last few centuries. Quite frankly, it's exhausting waiting for everyone to betray us. I fear Niklaus is growing lax as his regard for you increases. You are still young and quite lovely. I see no reason you two should not be together. I must ask, however, that you think quite seriously about what exactly you are doing. He is the Original hybrid, after all. I think you know that entails so much more than you have ever encountered in a relationship thus far." He strode away, leaving her confused and worried. By the time she reached her car, still parked haphazardly in the drive way, one thought seemed to penetrate the maze of his words. Was this a relationship?


	12. Chapter 12

**SO MY COMPUTER IS HAVING MAJOR ISSUES AND I AM FORCED TO ATTEMPT THIS NEXT CHAPTER IN A DIFFERENT FASHION FROM SIMPLY TYPING IN IN MICROSOFT THEN UPLOADING IT...HOPEFULLY THIS WORKS AND MAKES NO REAL DIFFERENCE TO THE STORY LAYOUT**

**ANYWAY, KLAUS AND CAROLINE AND GETTING PRETTY HEATED...**

****There was a dull, pleasurable ache in her lower abdomen as Caroline drove away from the mansion, the warm glow of her body eradicating any guilt she might have been feeling. Quite obviously, she owed everyone some sort of explanation. After all, she had made-out with the man twice, the second time heating up to the verge of more. A shiver of anticipation traveled through her body as she reflected upon what would have occurred had they not been interrupted.

Glancing down at herself, she realized that the wrinkled dress was from yesterday. The idea of returning home to change, however, was nothing short of terrifying. Suppressing another shudder, she pointed her car in the direction of the Gilbert residence.

Elena Gilbert was furiously pacing beside her bed, phone in hand. There was a strange silence amongst the group, none calling in or just texting. They always kept in touch.

"What's got you so worried?" Damon appeared, reclining amidst her pillows as he spoke.

"I haven't heard from anyone. Even Caroline isn't answering."

"Maybe Blondie finally found a life." He shrugged. She sent him a withering glare, causing him to sigh. "It'll be fine. Don't worry about it." Lulled by the soft, concerned entreaty she saw in his gaze, Elena sat down beside him.

"What if Alaric has her again?" It will be my fault!" She said.

"What?" He hauled himself up into a sitting position so they sat shoulder to shoulder. "No, no, no. Don't even think that." His arms strained with the urge to hold her, cradle her head to his chest, and protect her; he knew she would only pull away though. It was a familiar sensation, the deep sting that came with the knowledge that she wasn't his, the constant hurt that dwelled in his chest so drawing breath was difficult every time he saw her vulnerable, lovable little face. "No one blames you."

"They should." She confided, forcing him to lock down on his reaction as she leaned into him, his steady warmth.

"No." He replied softly. Feeling optimistic, he draped one arm around her shoulders. She let him, although she couldn't possibly understand the exquisite torture she was inflicting upon him, heaven and hell all at once.

"Damon." His name came out as a warning, but he couldn't help but fasten his gaze on those plush lips.

"What?"

"Don't." Except she was leaning too, pulled by that magnetic force that never failed to flare between them. "We can't." He chose to believe differently. The door slammed downstairs and Elena leaped back as if burned.

"Elena?" Caroline's voice floated in. "I was hoping I could..." Her voice trailed off as she came into the room. The air was heavy with unspoken need and Damon looked like a caged and hungry animal. "What's going on?" Elena couldn't summon any words, just a guilty expression.

"I was just wondering the same." Damon recovered smoothly, surveying her wrinkled dress and mussed hair. It was Caroline's turn to look guilty. He smirked, but wasn't truly concerned over why she looked as if this were her walk of shame. "By the way, did Liz have any news to share?"

"I haven't spoken to my mom yet." Caroline crossed her arms over her chest. "If you're so eager for information, go get it yourself." He rolled his eyes, but stood, readjusting his jacket.

"Right. You two have some fun girl talk while I go save everybody. Sometimes, I miss being the bad guy, I had it so much easier." He strolled out, stopping only once to throw Elena a last intense look.

"What are you doing?" Caroline hissed once he was gone. "Stefan is your one fairytale love!"

"I don't know what I'm doing anymore." Elena tossed herself backwards onto the bed, trying to ignore the fact that now her room, and her bed, smelled of Damon Salvatore and she had to fight the urge to snuggle down into it. "I'm so confused. I can't hurt either one."

"But can't you see that this is only hurting both?" She replied gently, softening her stance.

"I know."

They remained quiet, silence thickening between them.

"Elena," Caroline began nervously, "I am telling you this only because we are bound by super-secret friendship trust and I don't want you to freak out." By this point, she had her mortal friend's undivided attention. "I spent the night with Klaus."

"Wha-"

"Don't interrupt, please. This is hard enough." She took a breath, glaring at Elena until she subsided. "I felt safe, for the first time in a really long time. Maybe he really does want only to get to you, but the way I feel-" She stopped and her gaze grew hazy as memories crowded in. "The way he looks at me..." Abruptly, she refocused. "I'm going to be with him. I mean, we're allies now anyway. Please let me be happy!"

"I don't trust him." Came Elena's soft reply. Caroline wasn't sure she did either, but there was a tightening in her chest as she realized that she had already entrusted him with her life several times. "What kind of a relationship could you have with a man like Klaus?" An image of them this morning flashed through her mind. An intense, passionate kind seemed the most likely answer. Would he be the same if she wasn't a challenge? She wondered. That longing that blazed in his eyes, would it always be there for her and her only?

Now that she was actually considering it, a full-blown relationship with Niklaus Mikealson, she was awash with new doubts and insecurities. The man was a contradiction. Loyal to his family, but temperamental enough to dagger them. Would he someday tire of her and be unfaithful? He was rather fond of displays, but not of assuming any form of weakness. How would he treat her in public? As a toy so others suspected no affection? Or a prized possession he had taken under his protection, threatening fatal harm to offenders? She knew how he was in private. Artistic and sensitive. Passionate. But how who would he be when it wasn't just the two of them?


	13. Chapter 13

"Brother!" Called Kol, raising his hand in a half-hearted salute to Klaus. "Well now that I'm here, what do you say we head down to the pub for a drink? Just like old times!" Klaus leaned against the doorjamb, contemplating his younger brother through the polite yet solemn mask he'd adopted as his facial expression, his insides still boiling.

"I'd prefer to see whatever it is you've brought back to assist us." He murmured.

"Take a breather, Nik." Kol grinned. "She'll be back soon enough."

"She?"

"Don't be daft." Rebecca interrupted from the couch where she'd been lounging, quietly inspecting her nails. "Naturally another doppelganger would be a rather useful tool."

"Katherine." Klaus breathed, standing straight.

"She's out visiting...old friends." Kol explained, a devious smile lurking around his lips.

"You had no business bringing her." She would bring nothing but trouble for them in her hatred, he knew.

"She wants your pardon." Elijah joined in, having watched the conversation unfold. "Once she's managed to save Elena, you can agree to not hunt her down, and she'll once again disappear."

Klaus was skeptical. If he were to pardon the now useless and irritating vampire, he suspected she would choose to settle in Mystic Falls, wreaking havoc in its occupants. Last he heard, she was still intent upon obtaining a Salvatore heart. She'd caused quite a bit of trouble, or so he heard, although he hadn't been around at the time to witness exactly what she'd done. For now, he much preferred keeping a wild card such as her out of the mix.

"I will retrieve her before she gets this family killed." He uttered, striding out before he was further tempted to murder someone. Unfortunately, he hadn't an inkling of where to start, and it would take him most of the the day to locate her. He began at the Salvatore boarding house, only to find it completely bereft of vampires at the time, even the brothers seemed to be out. Night was falling as he directed himself towards the ever busy Grill, the epitome of teenager hormones that were possibly calling to Katherine's sense of the dramatic.

"Matt!" Caroline called, waving one hand. He paused for a moment, his back to them as he took an order, then briefly shook his head before returning to work. "He's ignoring me." She lamented.

"He's just busy." Elena replied, slipping out of her jacket. "Want to play some pool?" She continued, trying desperately to pretend all was normal and well. It was only a matter of time before Damon would get wind of her friend's new love interest and all of hell would break loose.

"I suck at pool." Caroline laughed. She very well understood what her friend was doing. Elena wanted every detail on Klaus, but was still reconciling herself to the idea that Caroline cared for him, a monster.

"Are you sure you haven't been compelled?" The question was out of her mouth before she realized she'd even spoken. Caroline's smile fell.

"He could have done that a long time ago, from the start actually. But he wants me as I come, I think. Everything about me. I really think that I mean enough for his patience." She paused, letting her own words sink into her heart because even she wasn't completely convinced of them but she knew they would reassure Elena at least slightly. "He let me reject him, then came back for more."

"Maybe he does care." Elena observed after a moment, and then, "What is she doing here?" They both shifted to stare at the doorway, where another Elena was sweeping in.

"Katherine." Elena and Caroline uttered as one. Matt turned to take in the situation, quickly appearing at Elena's side and ushering her into the back room so no one would notice that there were two of her. Caroline stood, valiantly ignoring the quiver to her limbs.

"I thought I deserved at least a hello from the doppelganger." Katherine commented, strolling over.

"I can't imagine why." Caroline was proud of the firm tone to her voice, even if her hands refused to cooperate and be still rather than shaking. There was another commotion by the door, their eyes drawn to the sandy-haired man who radiated anger as he strode in. _Klaus_. His name whispered across her senses. His attention zeroed in on them, Katherine's relaxed yet amused stance, Caroline's tension, and the bruised weight of the air between them.

"I suppose you came to take me back to your little mansion." Katherine scoffed, causing him to cock on brow. "But I'd rather not be a prisoner there." It was obvious that she thought she was an important asset at this point, and it was feeding her courage and cockiness. "In fact, how about I stay with Caroline?" Caroline's lips parted in shock. "I so enjoyed our last pillow fight." Klaus was quick to note the sudden paleness to her countenance.

"You will return to the mansion and serve whatever purpose my foolish brother intended for you." He ordered, not bothering to compel her but fully expecting obedience. "Until then, you'll not bother the residents of Mystic Falls. Now go." His voice remained fairly quiet, but it was hard and firm, and he turned his back to Katherine, dismissing her, and as she still had a healthy dose of fear for the hybrid, she went without another word.

Caroline kept her gaze trained on the man before her. He took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb across the fine points of her knuckles. "Come." He said after a moment. "I'll take you home." Keeping their fingers laced together, he led her back towards the door. She glanced over her shoulder, where Matt stood in the doorway of the back room.

"I'll take care of Elena." He said, knowing she could hear despite his hushed tones.

Caroline allowed Klaus to usher her out into a dark night. Briefly, she wondered if it was chilly, as vampires couldn't feel the cold.

"Here." Gruffly, he stripped off his jacket and wrapped it around her. They both knew that she didn't really need to warmth, but somehow it surrounded her with a sense of safety, allowing her to breathe easy now that he had banished Katherine from her sight. They both stood frozen as his arms fully encircled her, bringing her back flush against his front. Her mind remembered that day in the school, when they had stood this way. His scent, that allusive Klaus smell that was so crisp and unique, was caught in the jacket about her, and even more so by the man holding her. He sighed, his hot breath fanning her ear, inhaling the warm, subtle fruity smell of her shampoo with his nose in her hair. Another breath. "Come." He repeated, releasing her slowly only to retain possession of her hand.

They strolled silently for several moments, hand and hand. She had to suppress a giggle at the thought that Niklaus Mikealson, the big bad hybrid, was taking her home and holding her hand. No one would have been able to convince her that this would be happening a month ago, especially considering his murderous intentions back then.

"What did she mean?" He finally broke the silence. "About pillows?" She shot him a curious look. For some reason, she had always assumed Klaus had learned everything about their lives, always had the upper hand on inside knowledge.

"It's how she killed me." She murmured. He abruptly stopped walking, forcing her to stop as his grip tightened on her.

"Tell me." Was all he said. And his eyes, they burned the same as the day he'd rushed to her in the school, saving her from Alaric. That same intense, dark look.


	14. Chapter 14

**SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE THE NEXT CHAPTER! IT HAS JUST BEEN HARD TO FIND THE TIME. BUT HERE IT IS, FINALLY! HOPEFULLY IT SATISFIES ALL OF YOUR KLAUS/CAROLINE LONGINGS FOR A LEAST A LITTLE WHILE...**

**I SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT FOR OCTOBER TO ROLL AROUND AND TO BE TREATED TO SOME REAL KLAUS/CAROLINE ACTION EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT!**

_The Founder's Day celebration. This was Mrs. Lockwood's baby, her brain child, and the woman was determined that nothing go wrong. She seemed to be everywhere at once, ordering this and replacing that. She was, in a rather roundabout way, Caroline's future. During her day, the mayor's wife had been gorgeous and fabulous, volunteering and always supervising. She had been Miss Mystic Falls. It was everything Caroline had to look forward to, knowing that these days were what would someday become her own glory days._

_The day passed in a blur. Matt and her had climbed up on a beautiful float and wearing the sash declaring her Miss Mystic Falls, Caroline had felt like a princess. She was here, proudly standing before everyone she had known for all of her life and it was like declaring that this is what she had become. She had fulfilled every expectation and had finally made it to this point. Elena looked beautiful, as she always did. But Caroline was just as pleased with her own dress. It was a pale yellow, a happy ray of sunshine set off by elbow length white gloves that she thought were really quite elegant._

_The rest of the day was a blur of activity. Appearing here, relaxing there. It was fun and it was everything she had spent her youth imagining. Her mother was mysteriously absent, but Caroline tried not to let that overshadow her day. By the time night had fallen, she had changed out of her costume and into some more comfortable clothes so she could enjoy the rides and more modern entertainment. Grasping Matt's hand, she couldn't suppress the simple joy of knowing that somehow she had won this, she deserved all of this._

_Matt and Tyler were fighting. It was killing her that her boyfriend wasn't nearly as happy as she was. They were sitting at the Grill, watching Tyler play pool as if he hadn't a care in the world. "There was this time freshmen year, when Bonnie and I were in a fight." She started, going on the explain. Matt just stopped her. It was useless. Didn't he want to make up with his friend. Caroline couldn't imagine a world where her friends couldn't come first, where she wouldn't do anything for them. The Mayor strode in and Tyler's stance became defensive. They were both upset and she rushed in, trying to keep things light. "Is everything okay?"_

_They did as they were told. The Mayor ordered them home, even offering his car as the ride. Since when did the Mayor let Tyler drive his car? Slipping into the front passenger seat beside Tyler, Caroline glanced back at her boyfriend as he took the seat behind the driver. The ride was silent, awkward. Until Tyler was distracted._

_"What's that noise?" But there wasn't any noise to be spoken of. The air was mysteriously silent. Tyler pressed a hand to his head, letting go of the vehicle and causing it to swerve out of the lane. Caroline grasped at the wheel but couldn't right it and the car had crashed into the sidewalk._

_There was a blur of lights and noise, the police and ambulance being called. Caroline stood off to the side, watching Matt crouch next to his unconscious friend. The paramedics came to his side first._

_"Hey, are you okay? Your side took the biggest hit." Matt was beside her, cupping her face in his hands. She glanced back at Tyler, still laying prostrate on the ground. He was just so young._

_"I'm fine." She said, then repeated it immediately as if it would reassure him._

_"No, they need to check you out." He insisted. But Tyler._

_"No I'm fine. I'm fine. They're helping Tyler." Poor, poor Tyler. He was her friend, she'd known him for forever. This shouldn't be happening. Not in Mystic Falls. Not to him. He was so young. No one so young should have to die like this, not so close to home and friends._

_"Pulse is steady." Matt was back to Tyler's side in a flash once the paramedic had spoken. Caroline stumbled back a few steps, her head feeling slightly dizzy. But that was normal, right? After all, they had just been in a car crash. She could hear them talking. Tyler was awake. Oh thank god. He was awake and Matt had been so terrified for him. But he was alive. No one was going to die. Then the world went black._

_Her recovery had been miraculous. No one knew how her internal bleeding could have healed so quickly. Caroline wasn't all that surprised. She was young and she was healthy and maybe she had gotten lucky, but she just didn't care why she was still alive, only that she had survived and so had everyone else. It was so cute the way everyone came to visit. She hadn't realized that they all cared so much. The hospital was safe and warm, and she felt fine. Everything was just going to be fine._

_Then Elena came. It was late and Caroline had been asleep. Why had she come so late? She should be at home, but nonetheless, she was glad to see her. But Elena was acting strange, saying strange things._

_"My name is Katherine." But she looked like Elena. "I was hoping you could give the Salvatore brothers a message for me." Then came two words she could never ever forget. "Game on." The pillow was pressed against her face immediately, and she could feel that with hardly any effort, this Katherine was slowly killing her. She couldn't breathe; her nostrils were pressed flat to the pillow. Writhing and struggling, she did the best she could to fight back. But it wasn't enough. For the second time, the world fell black, except that she didn't expect to ever see anymore of it after that._

_The fear of that nightmare followed her into wakefulness. She'd sat up in her bed with a start, but no one was around. She wandered out of her hospital room and noticed the nurse sorting through papers there. Where was everyone._

_"It's the middle of the night, hon." Oh. Really? Why was she so confused? Where's her mom? "She left just after dinner with your boyfriend. Then your friend Elena stopped by." But she had said her name was Katherine. Why would Elena say that? And the pillow?_

_Caroline was hungry, hungry in a strange way that she had never really felt before, but she knew that she needed to eat. The nurse told her to go back to bed. An alluring smell wafted across the room, something she had never before smelled but now desperately craved. What was that? Then she saw it, the blood bag across the room. It was luring her in, and she slowly walked to it as if in a trance. She needed to get to it, but she didn't know why. She had to have it. The nurse caught her and ordered her back to bed. Again. But this time, Caroline was faster. The nurse walked her to her room, slamming the door behind her. Huddled on the bed, Caroline pulled the bright crimson bag from beneath her robe. Why did she want this? It was blood!_

_Hesitantly, she put the bag to her lips, sucking on the make-shift straw. It burst over her tongue, strange but refreshing the dull ache that was her body. It hit the back of her throat and she realized that she was gulping down disgusting human blood. Tossing the bag away, away from her, she gagged and coughed. She was sick. That had to be the only explanation. She needed help. What had she been thinking?_

_But it sat on the floor, droops pooling on the tile. Rocking herself back and forth, she stared at it, mesmerized once again. Then she was on the floor beside it, the flavor back on her tongue, and suddenly it wasn't enough. She needed it all, every drop and she needed to get it as fast as she could._

"Tell me." Klaus had said. She told him. She told him everything, holding nothing back because she knew deep down he knew exactly what she'd been doing that night on the hospital floor. He knew the urges and the desperation. He listened to every word the flowed out of her mouth. By the time they reached her home, he knew why she was the way that she was. And here she stopped, the sight of her home jarring her from the strange numbness her own story had put her in. This was the house she had just been attacked in. And the present became far more interesting than the past at this point. Noticing her hesitation, his eyes still burning with questions, Klaus tugged on her hand, entering her house as if prepared to instantly end anyone else that entered and interrupted. She went with him, believing that he was certainly capable of such a thing, welcoming the safety that he offered even if he didn't realize it.

** WRITTEN IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAY. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CAROLINE FLASHING BACK TO THE CRASH AND THE TURNING. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE MORE INTERESTING TO READ THAN HER SIMPLY NUTSHELLING IT ALL TO KLAUS. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!**


	15. Chapter 15

**SO THE REACTION TO THE LAST CHAPTER VARIED QUITE A BIT. SOME REALLY LOVED THE LOOK AT THE ACCIDENT FROM CAROLINE'S POINT OF VIEW WHILE OTHERS WANTED MORE KLAUS. SO HERE'S THE DEAL. I WILL HAVE A FEW SIMILAR CHAPTERS, BUT ONLY WHEN I FEEL THAT THEY ARE NECESSARY FLASH BACKS TO HELP BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CHARACTER. I AM MADLY IN LOVE WITH KLAROLINE, HOWEVER, AND AM THEREFORE ALL TOO WILLING TO GO ON AND ON ABOUT EVERYTHING INVOLVING THE TWO OF THEM TOGETHER.**

**NOW, BACK TO PRESENT TIME...AND HOW WILL OUR DEAR KLAUS FEEL ABOUT EVERYTHING POOR CAROLINE HAD BEEN PUT THROUGH BEFORE MEETING HIM?**

****Klaus led Caroline inside of her house. She had frozen just outside the door, remembering the rogue hybrid that had dared seek entrance to her home, then shook of her fear and bravely allowed him to draw her though the doorway. The sheriff was not yet home, a fact he was both thankful for and outraged at. Immediately, he traced the steps to her bedroom and carefully set her down on the bed. She was staring at him, her big blue eyes intent on his as if trying to read his mind. Carefully, he kept his face blank, void of any emotion. He needed more answers, so many questions pierced his mind. Why her? Of all the souls to tarnish, why had it been Caroline's? But he knew that most of his questions should be directed at Katherine, the maker of the creature before him.

"I'll leave you now, love." For perhaps the first time, Klaus was offering to go before she had the chance to kick him out, to shut him down. Leaving his jacket about her shoulders, he released her hand only to have her suddenly reach out and take back possession of his grasp. Startled, his head swung around and look down at her.

"You're leaving?" She said, trying to appear strong and invulnerable.

"Do you not want me to go?" He asked, perhaps a little to curiously and hopefully for his own liking. Again, she turned upon him the power of those eyes, those bright and shining blue orbs of wonder. Ever since he had first looked into them, they seemed to be imploring him for...something. Something he just couldn't name but yearned to give to her.

"I...I just don't want...to be alone." She finished, all at once vulnerable.

This scene was familiar to Klaus. This was the scene that had started everything. The night had had come to her and healed her, finding that bright light that was her spirit dim as she faced the death she had never wanted, in one so young. For once, he hadn't been the bad guy, even though she had feared him, she had showed him herself without remorse. So here, with her allowing him back into this room and opening up a little more of her heart to him, he couldn't leave.

Once again, he found himself drifting off to sleep with the blonde in his arms. Her head and its mass of blonde curls was heavy on his chest, her hand resting lightly on his chest just over his heart. He kept one arm wrapped around her waist, as if it would make her stay this way with him, as if he could make her with his strength. The other hand came up to clasp hers, holding it in place on his warm chest. But Klaus didn't sleep that night. He waited, biding his time until Caroline was deep asleep, secure in the knowledge that no one would dare threaten her while she was in the arms of the Original Hybrid. Complete darkness had fallen outside. Hugging her tightly, Klaus rolled Caroline onto her back, then slowly separated himself. From her bedside, he paused to look down on her. Blonde curls flung across the pillow, pink lips parted slightly, her chest rising and falling in a steady pattern, his leather jacket still wrapped around her. Then he left.

His own house was just as quiet, though it was a silence he had every intention of breaking regardless of the fact his sibling were sound asleep in their own rooms. Less than a minute after he had entered through the door, he had sent Katherine, who had been shown to a rather gorgeous and plush guestroom, flying into a wall. A crack split across the wood. Picking her up and holding her by a hand on her throat, he stared coolly at she struggled, attempting to pry off his fingers. Her brown eyes were wide with fear.

"Brother!" Elijah appeared in the doorway, for once less than impeccably dressed as he was in long gray pajama bottoms and no shirt. Klaus didn't even glance his way.

"Why Caroline? Why kill her?" He demanded of Katherine instead, punctuating his words with a another slam into the wall at her back.

"Caroline?" She repeated, gasping a bit but confused. "This is about the girl I killed?" His grip tightened, her air supply all but gone, enough remaining for her to answer however.

"Her name is Caroline." He growled. "You killed her to send a message to the Salvatores? But I can't help but find myself curious. Why Caroline?"

"Because." She choked out. "She was. Damon's. Plaything." Suddenly, he released her, stepping back as she crumpled to the floor. "It was more effective that way." She finished, her voice scratchy and thin as she raised a hand to rub at her throat. Elijah watched his brother warily.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Klaus said, his demeanor deceptively calm. "Oh and brother, keep this _thing_ out of my sight." He indicated Katherine, still huddled on the floor. "You may serve a purpose here, but I find that very few people are irreplaceable." Before he made it to the door her heard her reply.

"But I am. You looked for me for hundreds of years." She couldn't keep the smirk out of her voice, try as she might.

"You are the Petrova doppelganger. By very definition, there are more of you than of any other irritating being in the history of the world." He said softly, his back still facing her. "I already have replaced you with Elena." He strode from the room and from the house. Had he the time, she would have suffered so much more. It could have taken until the sun rose once again. But this night still had promise.

The bad guy in him was just getting warmed up. Just stretching, cracking his knuckles one by one, as Klaus strolled up the drive to the Salvatore boarding house. He liked to be considered classy and refined even as he caused blood to run and pain the echo down empty walks, however. For that reason, he rang the doorbell as if he couldn't just walk right in. No, this, this was far more entertaining.

"Stefan, old friend." Klaus casually clasped his hands behind his back and surveyed the man he had once considered to be a brother. "It's such a nice night. I wonder, is your brother home?" Stefan kept his eyes glued to Klaus, noting the infamous smirk that played around his lips.

"Alaric could be on the streets and here you are just dropping by?" He replied.

"Well." Klaus laughed. "I have some rather important business to attend to." Besides, he was the Original Hybrid and he ran from no one.

"Here I am." Damon appeared behind his brother, his black shirt open to reveal a smooth chest and a glass of whiskey in hand. "Cheers to your stupidity." He raised his glance then took a burning gulp of the vervaine laced drink.

"It's not my stupidity we are here to discuss tonight, I'm afraid." In a flash, Klaus was in the door and knocked the drink away. "Tell me about your time with Caroline." His voice was soft, too soft to be good. Damon's perhaps unthoughtful response was a short shout of laughter.

"Barbie? She was human. I used her. Surely you know how that goes." It was one of the very few things the two had in common.

"Details, if you don't mind." He plunged broken piece of wood that neither brother had seen into his stomach. Damon doubled over with a groan. Stefan started towards them, but backed off when Klaus sent him a chilling glance. He wouldn't kill Damon, they all knew that he needed him too much if he was to survive Alaric. Besides, killing the vampire would ensure that no one else helped either, including the lovely Caroline. Torture was acceptable.

"She was Elena's friend." Damon exclaimed, utterly confounded as to why Klaus was going to all of this trouble. He knew that he fancied the blonde, but was convinced it was nothing more than a passing fancy, a game he himself was familiar with before he had been caught by Elena. "It was just a way to piss off Stefan. And why not drink from her while I was at it? Blood bags are no good and I am stronger than that bunny diet Mr. Ex-Ripper over there likes to pretend he can stick to." Somethings was missing. Klaus was sure of it. He wiggle the wood a little. Damon was bent over his arm, Klaus' hand on his shoulder as he contemplated.

"She allowed you, a vampire, to drink from her?" He asked skeptically.

"I compelled her, then made her forget. Don't worry, Stefan came out to be the knight in shining armor at the end, saving her from the dastardly vampire drinking her dry. He put vervaine in her system and compelled her to forget that I was anything other than an asshole of a boyfriend." Then she had become a vampire. She would remember everything. And Katherine had wanted to reopen those old wounds and get the drama running high for the little game she had been playing at the time. Klaus glanced out the window and noticed the daybreak was only a few hours away. Curtly, he removed the wood, then thought better of it and shoved it back in a different location.

"I believe you know what that is for." With a flourish he wasn't really feeling, he strode out of the house, then broke into a supernatural run to reach Caroline's. He hadn't wanted to leave her alone and unprotected for this long, but he had simply had to. The anger and thirst for revenge in him wouldn't have allowed all of this torture to go unpunished. But there was so much pain inside of her, surely it all hadn't stemmed from this. He slipped back into her room, finding her in much the same position as when he had left. As soon as he had crawled into the space beside her, she had turned, cuddling back up to him as if missing his heat and security. It surprised him, to say the least.

It was becoming a habit to wake up in the arms of this man. Caroline was still partly asleep, her mind alert enough to recognize where she was, whose arms were wrapped about her, but her body was still unwilling to follow her dictates and move or even tense the slightest bit. At least her eyelids were being helpful. Heavy though they were, she blinked them open to find that her head was on his chest, a fact she could already guessed as she could feel him breathing. Glancing up, she saw the hard cast of his jaw, the stubble of his beard. He looked...young. It was a trait she had never noticed before, the innocence of his dimples that she knew were there. Because he was sleeping, he lacked the hard expression or knowledgeable grin that living so long had lent to his face. For now, he was a simple man with no enemies and no secrets.

Idly, she wondered if any other had seen him sleep. If they had, surely they could never find it in them to fear him ever again. Seeing a person asleep was an incredibly intimate gesture the bespoke of trust and understanding. Niklaus Mikealson, the Original Hybrid that had once set out to kill every enemy in his path and crush every weakness, was sleeping with her in his arms. Could he have put her in a more powerful position to hurt him? She was careful not to move, for it would wake him. Her mind turned to less deep thoughts. These thoughts, of small things like walks in the park and the genuine smile of the man she was curled up next to, soon drifted off into dreams, and she was back asleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**SORRY IT HAS TAKEN SO LONG TO UPDATE! MY LIFE HAS JUST BEEN HECTIC AND, OF COURSE, WRITERS BLOCK SET IN BIG TIME. I NEED OCTOBER TO GET HERE! I NEED MY VAMPIRE DIARIES BACK!**

**SINCE IT IS HAS BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME SINCE I POSTED, HERE'S A LITTLE REVIEW OF THE STORY SO FAR. ALARIC, WITH THE HELP OF TYLER, IS STILL OUT AND ABOUT BUT STAYING PRETTY QUIET SO FAR. SUSPICIOUS, IN MY OPINION. ELENA IS STILL TORN BETWEEN THE TWO OVERLY GORGEOUS MEN WHO ARE IN LOVE WITH HER. HONESTLY, HOW HARD CAN HER LIFE BE WITH THOSE TWO HANGING AROUND ALL THE FREAKIN' TIME? CAROLINE IS FEELING RATHER TENDERLY TOWARDS OUR RESIDENT BAD BOY KLAUS AND THINGS HAVE GOTTEN PRETTY HEATED BETWEEN THEM ON A FEW OCCASIONS, THOUGH THE DEED HAS YET TO ACTUALLY BE DONE. KATHERINE HAS RETURNED TO TOWN, BROUGHT BY KOL, AND IMMEDIATELY BROUGHT UP SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT CAROLINE'S PAST, WHICH KLAUS HAD UNTIL THAT POINT BEEN UNAWARE OF. NOW THAT HE KNOWS OF THE UNUSUALLY HIGH AMOUNT OF TORTURE SHE SEEMS TO ENDURE, HE IS RATHER ANGRY AND SAW FIT TO PUNISH BOTH KATHERINE AND DAMON (WHOM I DO LOVE, MAKE NO MISTAKE!) IN THE WAY ONLY HE, AS THE ORIGINAL HYBRID CAN DO. NOW HE IS BACK WITH CAROLINE, IN HER BED OF ALL PLACES, AS THEY CUDDLE IT UP AND TAKE A RATHER WELL DESERVED NAP...**

****As a human, Caroline had been plagued with an irritating sense of urgency. She awoke every morning with the desperate need to just _go_. She had so many places to be, people to see. There didn't seem to be enough time in the day to enjoy the youth she was very aware to be slipping away from her. Someday, she would be all grown up and these high school, peppy cheer-leading days would be over and she had been determined to enjoy every minute of them. She had charged the morning like a bull, determined to keep her place in people's memories for what would someday be known as her best days.

Then she had become a vampire and that had completely changed everything, completely changed her. Her passion for life still blazed a bright flame in her heart. But all of those frivolous attempts to gain attention, to assure herself that she was doing it all right, was gone. She had forever. So when she awoke in the mornings, she took her time to stretch and breathe, trying not to think about the fact that time had frozen in place and that she would awake to millions more mornings. She didn't miss having to work so hard for people's attention. It had been an exhausting and disappointing way to live. There would always be someone prettier, someone who seemed to just have it all with no effort whatsoever. Those were the girls that men wanted. For some incomprehensible reason though, the ultimate man wanted her, Caroline Forbes.

She had always been attracted to the bad boys. She liked the edge of danger they thrived on, the adrenaline. Mostly, it was the idea that she could tame them, just a little. To know the other girls looked and saw and wanted. That part of her that had been born when she had learned that pleasing her father was an impossibility just loved watching the jealously that flashed in those people's eyes when they saw that she was with the guy no one thought would ever be caught. Klaus was different. He was fearsome and ruthless, more than just the proud player Tyler had been, even more than Damon in the days she had been with him. He was a beast. By all accounts, the only one who should ever be able to catch the eye of someone like him would have to be a righteous and bad-ass woman who also happened to be a world-class model. Try as she might, even Caroline couldn't some up enough confidence to make herself believe she was on that same level. Why did he want her then?

Thoughts turning around in her mind, Caroline stretched as she tried to shake the last of sleep from her frame. The arm that was draped loosely around her waist tightened. The arm was strong, biceps clearly visible and a little distracting in her current half-asleep state. She glanced up to find Klaus staring at her, his solemn expression in place. As far as Caroline could tell, he had mastered exactly two expressions and the rest he used only at limited intervals, though he had certainly put some work into them as well. One expression was his cocky, victorious smirk. The one that stretched his pink lips up at the corners and made his eyes twinkle just a bit. The other, the one he was wearing now, was the intense, consuming look of a man who knew no fear, but also of a man who knew agony, a man longing for something he didn't believe he had a right to.

"You're still here." She said baldly, having half expected to find herself alone when the morning came, as it been the occurrence the last few times her guards had shattered enough to allow him to hold her into the night.

"I was invited." He replied, his lips curving upward and his accent skimming across her skin like velvet. Her eyes, wide and vulnerable, stayed locked with his.

"Only because I was dying." She couldn't resist the urge to mock as she rolled from his grasp, something she knew she had been able to do only because he allowed it. He raised himself up on his elbows, watching as she shifted through her closet.

"You never did thank me for that, by the way." He mused aloud, rubbing a finger over his chin and across the stubble of a beard the had grown there. "I can certainly think of a few ways to fix that." He cocked one brow, a gesture she found ridiculous on anyone else but for some reason though he managed to pull it off perfectly. Ignoring the heat that suddenly shot through her body, she threw an irritated glance over her shoulder.

"Really? Is that all you guys think about?"

"Oh, love, don't be like that so early in the morning." She rolled her eyes then happened to catch sight of the clock. Her mouth dropped open in horror, her fingers shifting through her clothes hastily. "Something the matter, love?"

"We are supposed to meet everyone at Damon and Stefan's! I'm not even dressed. I haven't done my hair. I need to shower." She began muttering to herself, a list of preparations before she could go out for the day. He sighed and fell back on the bed, his body more relaxed than ever, more relaxed than it had a right to be considering the reason they had to go to the Salvatore's was due to the hunter out to stake him and his family, therefore murdering off the rest of the vampire species. Caroline flew into her bathroom, her arms filled with clothes. Once the door has slammed behind her and he could hear the splash of running water from the shower head, he crept from the bed and to her desk. It wasn't difficult to find a pen and paper. Back on the bed, he began to draw. Seeing as he had no plan for making himself especially presentable for a brief visit with the men he had just semi-tortured last night, he had quite a bit of time to kill before Caroline would be ready and they could go.

Caroline couldn't remember her last actual bad hair day and it was truly a gift from above. Her hair seemed to get the message that time was of the essence and it complied with her curling iron rather well. Fully dressed and hair done, finally, she went back to her room for her shoes and to do her make up in front of her vanity mirror. She hardly expected to find Klaus still reclining on her bed as she trooped back out. Why hadn't he gone home to change? She shot him a withering look. How dare he manage to look just as he always did with no effort on his part?

"Aren't you going to change?" She prompted, throwing herself into her seat at the vanity, and sorting through eyeshadow. He didn't even glance up.

"I have no intention of it, no." He replied softly but firmly. She muttered a bit to herself, something rather undignified and uncomplimentary to man-kind in general. Make-up in place, she swiveled around in her chair and noticed he had moved not an inch, unless you wanted to count the steady scratch of his pen on his paper.

"What are you doing?" She demanded finally. It was actually quite obvious what he was doing, drawing was the only logical answer. Her real question was what. What could he possibly be drawing at a time like this?

"Drawing you." He glanced up, tilting his head to the side a little as if memorizing her features.

"Oh." Her voice went up an octave, a surprised and pleased octave. She looked away then turned back a moment later. "Can I see?" There was something just so romantic about being drawn.

"Well, that's a rather big request." He grinned a bit. "I think I should get something out of it." She rolled her eyes at him. He was such an opportunist.

"You wish." His lips turned to a sort of I-always-get-my-way sort of pout. "I doubt you're even that good."

"We both know that not to be the case." He replied instantly. She just shrugged.

"You would have to prove it." Their eyes met in a challenging stare. Slowly, he extending his hand, the paper between two of his long fingers. She reached for it only to have him snatch it backwards at the last moment.

"Didn't think you would win that easily, did you, love?" That cocky, victory smirk was taken over his expression.

"I think I should warn you, I happen to be a very competitive person. This one time, in the 7th grade, I made Laura Welsh cry because I won at hopscotch. I like to win, and I generally do." She told him primly.

"In that case, I should warn you." He leaned forward, eyes eating at hers. "I _always_ win." A shiver ran down her spine.

Then his hand was clasped at the back of her neck and his lips were devouring hers before there was a moment to blink. It was scorching. The paper, the drawing sketched on it in blue ink, fluttered to her floor, forgotten, as his other hand came up to join the first. She opened her lips, his tongue pushing in and sliding along hers. The man could kiss! She put a delicate hand to his chest and pushed, falling from the chair and on top of him where he had landed on her bed. It brought back the feeling she had had the other day in _his _bedroom. Except this time, he clearly meant to finish it. In one quick, aggressive roll, he had flipped her onto her back, using his weight to keep her pinned but not crush her. One large hand stole down her body and to her thigh. Those feel-good lips traveled down her neck to her pulse. Unaware of what she was doing, her fingers slid into his hair while that hand moved up and up, barely brushing the spot that hadn't been needy until he had started kissing her. Now, it was hot and aching. One finger pressed and her hips lurched a bit off the bed, a low hum emerged from the back of her throat. He did it again.

A car lurched to a stop outside, quickly followed by the slam of her front door. They had barely separated before her bedroom door did the same. Klaus growled, glowering at the man in the door.

"Alright, Blondie." Damon strode through the door. He was moment's ahead of a few others. Behind him, Katherine waltzed in ahead of Stefan and Elijah.

"What's going on?" Klaus asked, standing against one wall and regarding them as if contemplating what the easiest way to murder them all would be.

"We have a little bit of...a situation." Damon replied dryly. Finally, the rest of the small group made themselves known. A battered and bruised Bonnie stumbled in, her skin still holding the stain of having had a bloody nose like it does when she uses too much power. Elena had one supportive hand on her shoulder, though she kept glancing behind her nervously at the dark figure that prowled at her heels. Caroline shrunk back on the bed, causing Klaus' eyes to narrow. _So this was the would-be hybrid that had attacked her_, he thought.


	17. Chapter 17

**SO SORRY ON THE LONG UPDATE. I'M SURE YOU HAVE HEARD EVERY EXCUSE I COULD MAKE FOR IT THOUGH SO I WON'T BOTHER. :)**

**I'VE BEEN STRUGGLIGN TO KEEP MY CHARACTERS AS TRUE TO THEIR PERSONALITES AS I CAN. I KNOW THAT OFTEN TIMES I WILL READ A FANFIC AND THINK THAT THE CHARACTERS ARE ACTING COMPLETELY OUT OF CHARACTER AND IT JUST ISN'T AS ENJOYABLE TO HOPEFULLY I MANAGED TO MAINTAIN JUST A LITTLE BIT OF WHO THEY ARE SO IT SEEMS MORE REALISTIC.**

**AS ALWAYS, ENJOY AND REVIEW! FRESH IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TOO.**

"What is he doing here?" Caroline demanded. Damon shrugged and stretched out on the bed beside her.

"He wanted to be helpful." He replied.

"Why did you have to bring him here though?" Klaus said. "Surely a cage would have done just as well."

"Caroline." The other hybrid's voice was smooth as silk. Klaus's jaw hardened. "Long time no see." Caroline scooted back a bit. "I just met your friend Tyler."

"Tyler?" She breathed. Klaus's palms clenched into fists. He was aware of the fact that Damon had brought the inferior hybrid only as a way to get his revenge on him for last night. Mention of that inspid boy was a direct way to get at him, reminding him of the one person that Caroline had put between them so many times.

"And, of course, his girlfriend. Haley. A lovely girl." The words rolled around in his mouth as if he were savoring them before speaking.

"Who is Haley?" Elena finally spoke up, looking confused.

"The brave sould who helped Tyler break the sire bond." The man was obviously enjoying his torment of the group. Lounging in a half-standing position against one wall, he surveyed the impact his words were having on Caroline, who was then effecting the oh-so invincible Niklaus Mikealson.

Caroline remained frozen, realizing the implications of what was being said. Tyler had cheated on he. It was painful, watching these aspects of him leak out. While he'd been off in the Appalachian Mountains, she'd been rejecting Klaus over and over, the one man who had ever wanted her. It was what she'd always desired. To be pursued and, well, valuable in another's eyes. Somehow, she had at first chosen Tyler, a boy who couldn't suppress his every whim. Klaus was like gravity. He drew her to him with his serious eyes and intense longings. He'd seen so much, yet he saw only beauty when he saw her. When she'd ended things with Tyler, it had nearly crushed her. She had thought that she was saying goodbye to her chance at a happy forever. For surely, he was who she was supposed to be with, even if that thought had been less than encouraging at times. Because Tyler was, and always would be, the player, so confident in himself that a show of muscles would make him into a man. There was no charm or elegance. So Caroline's sense of losing Tyler, her friend and at one time lover, was slowly slipping away into anger. Anger at the fact that he hadn't once considered her.

"You brought him all the way here just so he could tattle-tae on Tyler?" Klaus questioned coldly.

"He attacked me." Bonnie answered. "I fought him." Which explained her _I-used-too-much-magic_ look.

"Then I flew in and saved the day. No need to thank me." Damon continued. "Then I figured Mr. Creepy here would have some useful information that he should be sharing with us kind folk." Bonnie started to lean a little heavier on Elena.

"I need to take her home." Elena said, worry laced throughout her voice. The two slowly left, leaving the rogue hybrid with several pairs of gazes on him, most prepared to give chase should he attempt to escape.

"Once again, I find myself askin why, of all places, he was brought here." Klaus grond out through clenched teeth, tired of this game they seemed to be playing with him.

"He's already been invited in here." Stefan replied. "Caroline, I'm sorry for barging in, but-"

"We needed to keep him somewhere." Katherine interrupted, looking bored as she perched on the window sill, twirling one lock of curly brown hair around her long finger. "Congradulations, you won the draw."

"You're keeping him here?" Caroline exclaimed. "But what about my mom?"

"She's got a gun." Damon said. "She can just shoot him if he acts up and this particular problem is solved. Not the bigger problem though. Which is a big bad Alaric hunter, although everyone else seems to have just forgotten that tiny little detail."

"I assure you, due attention has been paid to that particular nusance." Klaus replied, his accent smooth as silk even as his expression tod a different story, one of an intent to murder.

"Now, Caroline, if you could come with me?" Elijah extended a hand to help her off the bed.

"Why?" Klaus stepped forward, putting himself slightly between them.

"I believe you have some unfinished business here, brother." Elijah's voice was its usual sea of calm, but there was a pointed edge to his words. Klaus held his brother's gaze then deliberately shifted to Caroline. The sun was hitting her blonde hair and making her positively glow. Yes, there certainly was some unfinished business to be seen to. Klaus allowed Caroline to brush by him, watching the subtle sway to her hips as she left with Elijah. She cast a glance over her shoulder at the strant supernatural group left in her bedroom.

With deceptive ease, Klaus turned to face those left in the room while his mind was screaming for him to follow her out the door and to far more pleasurable things. "Move him. I don't want him here." He stated, used to getting his way.

"Yeah about that." Damon stood again. "I don't really want to do anything you say since you tortured me and all." Katherine agreed.

"We didn't come to fight." Stefan stepped in, locking gazes with them each one by one. The other hybrid watched with an amused smirk to his lips, not knowing the pain Klaus was already imagining for him. "But we do need to be more unified if we are going to beat Alaric. You coming after us in the night isn't helping that, Klaus."

"Well Damon should have been more considerate in his treatment of Caroline then." Was the only response that came forth. "Now move your little animal, or I will." The other hybrid had the decency to look slightly afraid.

"Where else are we going to put him?" Katherine asked.

"We could always use that nice little cellar under the townhall. The one where Caroline's dad tortured her and we put you to wean you off you Ripper drug." Damon suggested dryly.

"Caroline's father..." Klaus let the sentence hang, instantly drawing parallels between her father and his own now.

"Yeah yeah. Daddy wasn't so nice to the poor little blonde cheerleader." Damon rolled his eyes. "Too bad you can't go beat up a dead guy. Anyway, we're keeping the rogue hybrid here with the sheriff. Anyone can just walk into our house, so this is the best spot."

"I am not leaving Caroline here."

"Oh come on." The other hybrid smiled. "We'd have some fun." He found himself pushed against a wall, a hand at his throat and yellow eyes flashing before him.

"You won't touch her." Klaus snarled. "She's coming home with me."


	18. Chapter 18

**TVD IS SERIOUSLY LACKING IN MY KLAROLINE MOMENTS. AS IT IS, I'M FORCED TO CONTINUE WITH MY OWN PRECIOUS THOUGHTS OF THE TWO. AS ALWAYS, REVIEW AND ENJOY :)**

While the group was left in her room, Caroline turned to Elijah, surely the most logical minded among them. Leaving a homicidal hybrid in her home was simply not an option.

"I'm sure you have some questions regarding this decision." Elijah said, pulling two glasses from a kitchen cabinet.

"There are other places to keep him. My mom-"

"The fact of the matter is, this was my idea. We needed somewhere that the Hunter would not serch, with someone we can trust." He paused to take a sip of water from the glass he had just filled. "I must admit to having an alterior motive, however."

"Klaus." She realized.

"My brother has quite an affection for you. By keeping that man here, it's also sending a message."

"That I'm not important." Her voice was flat.

"That you're not a weakness." He corrected sternly. "This is for your own protection as well. Niklaus has many enemies who would be pleased to discover he had any inerests outside of himself."

"They'd hurt me, just to get to him." Elijah inclined his head, remaining silent and confirming her voiced fear. She glanced away, unable to believe that Klaus, the Original Hybrid, could ever allow anyone to be his weakness. But then, she could handle only so much torture in such a short lifespan.

"I have my family to think about first and foremost." Elijah continued. "I quite like you, Caroline. I believe you will be a good influence on my rash brother. But now is not the time for him to be opening himself up to tenderness. He needs to protect this family. We have been this way for many centuries, and it is of the utmost importance to me that no one, including you and your friends, are hurt by this." He had such a way of putting it, of being logical and kind at the same time.

"My mother-" She began.

"Please do not misunderstand." He gently interrupted, sliding one hand into his pocket, standing casually and confidently. "Your mother is equipped to handle the situation. the man will be locked away, and you both will be perfectly safe, and he will be contained."

"Be that as it may," Klaus strolled in, "I much prefer my own plan." Caroline's gaze locked with his, and he seemed to caress her with just the warmth of his eyes.

"What exactly does that entail?" Elijah questioned with a curious, midly cautious expression. Caroline glanced at him, breaking the thrall between Klaus and herself. Deep down, just below her ribs, there was a little flutter, a physical urge to cuddle closer. Except he was still standing across the room, all intense good looks and flashing diples, and she just couldn't be that obvious.

"Oh, I assure you, it's really quite genius. Certainly better than whatever little scheme is at work here." He clasped his hands behind his back, smirking. That smirk was infamous for the way it masked his truer, darker, intentions. Elijah's expression remained impassive. "Glad we've settled that. Now than, Caroline, we have quite a day ahead of us." Caroline glanced out the window, the sunlight reminding her that this hectic day was still just in the morning. When she looked back, he had his eyebrows raised as if challenging her.

Klaus was too aware of the fact that the earlier familiarity may have ceased now that her friends, friends whom he had single handedly tormented in the past, had come bursting in. It was entirely possible that reality would hit and she would remember all the reasons why she had spent so long dismissing his advances. So he watched carefully for her to make the decision. By this point, he was quite sure he wouldn't be able to simply step back from her once again, and resume being her enemy. The only choice here was how difficult she was going to make it for him to get closer to her.

Caroline slowly stood adn walked towards him, not completely sure she'd through this through but going with her instinct, though it made her pulse race. Thoughts of her conversation were swirling about in her mind, but she ignored them for the pleasurable sensation of feeling Klaus's hand close around hers as soon as she was close enough. His lips curled into a smile and his other hand came to rest on her waist. She smiled shyly back.

"We have much to discuss, love." He murmured, planting a kiss to the back of her hand.

He was a strategic man who knew timing was everything in a plan. He didn't have a car parked there, but he managed to pocket Caroline's keys from a hall table as they passed. She continued to regard him curiously until after he'd helped her into the passenger seat and pulled away from the curb.

Everytime she looked at him, Caroline got this strange shock to her system. He was the Original Hybrid, masterful and terrifying. That, however, didn't seem to fit the man currently handling the wheel with one han so the other could rest in her lap, clasped by both of hers. He didn't seem to mind that she was staring at him, surely the product of being gorgeous for centuries, though he gave the impression of being amused by it.

He waited until he'd ushered her into his mansino, with its glorious design. She went to stand in the center of the living room, looking curiously about, and he leaned against the door, enjoying the sight.

"Caroline, I've decided that you should come to live with me." He announced calmly, though he felt a curious tightening sensation in his chest. She gaped at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, temporarily." He started to stroll towards her. "Afterall, it only makes sense what with that rogue hybrid running a muck. Saves you the trouble of coming crying in the night. What do you say?" She scowled. The comment about her running to him, as she had last time the man had been in her house, was a low blow and they both knew it. He obviously expected to get his way, something he was no doubt used to after so long living.

"No." She replied, crossing her arms. Really, he should have come to expect defianc from her, seeing as it was a particular factor in his draw to her. Still, his face darkened into the scowlt hat many were wise enough to fear, though it only made her adopt haughtier expression and rigid posture.

"I think you'll find yourselt to be mistaken." He replied softly, moving closer in a prowl.

"Oh? What are you going to do about it?" She challenged.

"I could lock you up." He suggested, looking perfectly serious. Little did she know that the only place she would be confined to would be his bedroom and he would be more than happy to join her there.

"Like that would win me over." She scoffed, secure in the knowledge he would do no such thing. He was standing close, close enough to reach a hand up, caress her neck and cheek with the back of his knuckles.

"Oh sweetheart, I believe I already have." As her body softened towards his touch, she came to the confusing revelation that he was completely right.

**LET'S BE HONEST, WHO WOULDN'T BE TOTALLY OK WITH BEING IN A THRALL WITH THIS MAN? OR LOCKED IN THE SAME ROOM WITH HIM, FOR THAT MATTER? MY THOUGHTS FOR NEXT TIME? WELL I DO BELIEVE THESE TWO HAVE SOME RATHER IMPORTANT UNFINISHED BUSINESS TO TAKE CARE OF, HOPEFULLY WITH NO INTERRUPTIONS THIS TIME. REVIEW!**


	19. Chapter 19

**I AM UTTERLY IN LOVE WITH TVD THIS WEEK! FINALLY! SO MUCH KLAUS AND CAROLINE IN A SINGLE EPISODES, AND THEY WERE BEING NICE TO EACH OTHER! AND THE WHOLE TIME, KLAUS HAD THAT RIDICULOUS, CUTE GRIN ON HIS FACE! AND A DATE? SAY WHATTTT...**

**OVER LAST CHAPTER, I RECIEVED SEVERAL WONDERUL REVIEWS. I DEARLY LOVE GETTING REVIEWS THAT TELL ME THAT READERS ARE EXPERIENCING EVERYTHING I WANTED TO COMMUNICATE AND ENJOYING IT! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!**

**NOW I KNOW I PROMISED, OR AT LEAST IMPLIED, THAT ALL WAS WELL IN KLAUS AND CAROLINE LAND AND THAT WE WERE GOING TO SEE SOME ACTION. HOWEVER, MANY MADE THE GOOD POINT THAT CAROLINE WAS JUST AS LOYAL TO HER FAMILY AND WOULDN'T SIMPLY LEAVE HER MOTHER BEHIND TO GO MOVE IN WITH KLAUS. SO I FELT ANOTHER CHAPTER WAS NEEDED WITH PERHAPS A LITTLE MORE PERSUASION FOR CAROLINE.**

**AS ALWAYS, REVIEW AND ENJOY!**

"The answer is still no." Caroline marched to her open suitcase, yanking out the shirt Klaus had just folded up and placed inside. He just sighed, opening a new drawer of her dresser.

"Now, love, don't be difficult." He replied, as he had every other time she argued, which had been occurring ever since he'd driven her back home to collect some of her things.

"There is no way I am going to be convinced to just pick up and leave while my mother is here with that...that psychopath!" She exclaimed.

"Well, well." He suddenly murmured, obviously ignoring her as he opened yet another drawer. She crossed her arms, regarding him coolly as he turned around, a red thong dangling from his long fingers.

"Seriously?" He looked from her to the underwear, his eyebrows raised. She had the uncomfortable feelign that he was imagining them, and little else, on her.

"Let's be sure to pack these." He made a show of slipping them into his jacket pocket.

"We're not packing anything because I'm not going anywhere!" She continued unpacking, determined to ignore the thrum of her body, the tightning of the muscles belows her waist. His hands slid around her waist, his lips on her exposed neck. She gasped, dropping the shirt she was holding, her head lolling back against his shoulder and giving him easier access.

"But think of the fun we'll have." He whispered, nibbling on her ear. He walked his fingers down her blouse to the edge of her skinny jeans. She realized that this was his way of luring her into surrender. If she agreed, she'd end up on her back in between his sheets by nightfall. By this point, she was considering pushing him into the bed anyway. But there was the reminder of a darker presence nearby, the other hybrid, which went a long way towards cooling her passions.

It was strange to realize that klaus could still be that twisted, dangerous person yet so tender towards her. She wondered if she would ever push him too far or if he would grow tired of her. Surely living for so long, hunting for a doppelganger for ages, would award him some patience, though she must have use much of that up by now. Then again, her first real impression of him had been when his witch helpers had abducted her with the intent to sacrifice her, breaking the curse. What would have he been doing right now, if he had succeeded in killing her that night?

"Klaus," She said carefully, her voice breathy as she tried to think past the haze in her mind, "my mom." She'd always been good at this part. Stopping because there was so much else going on that she needed to be a part of. That had developed quite a bit once she'd turned. The feel of KLaus at her back, warm and secure, disappeared. She knew that techinically she'd made the right decision for everyone, though perhaps not for herself. When she made the right decision for others, for her friends, it usually left her chilled and lonely, but relieved that she had been able to help. If she were to be selfish, to revert back to the old Caroline who was self-concious and self-absorbed, then she knew she could be back in his arms. Or could she? Would he have ever cared for that Caroline? When she did turn back to look at him, it was to find him regarding her with a locked jaw and carefully blank face.

"I need to stay with my mom." She repeated. They stayed in silence, tension heavy in the air. Countless scenarious flashed through her mind, things he could say that would weaken her resolve even if she wanted to fight it. But he said nothing, holding a harsh rein on his temper. Then he just left.

Caroline collasped on the bed, not crying, but dangerously close to it. She tried to envision how the others would ahve reacted. Damon would have compelled her into compliance, Matt would never have put her into such a situation, and Tyler would have pleaded with puppy dog eyes and a hand on her cheek. She could predict their responses. Klaus was...an enigma. Perhaps that was what made her keep questioning all of this.

When she crawled into bed that night, it was with the unsettling knowledge that there was a rogue hybrid chained up in her basement, guarded by deputies. Liz Forbes had immediately understood why her home had been chosen, at least she thought she did anyway. She was sheriff, she knew their secrets, the man had access already, and any other place - such as the Salvatore's basement, under Town Hall, or even the old cellars under the Lockwood estate - were all accessible and known to Alaric.

Therefore, Caroline was forced to accept that her home was a prison for all intensive purposes. Her bed was cold, the sheets scrathcy and stiff. She'd slept in this bed dozens of times, yet tonight it was almost unfamiliar. She pulled a pillow sideways, curling her arm around it and hugging it to her front.

She was restless. Her mother came to peek in and noticed the gleam of her eyes in the soft light.

"You're awake." Liz said, coming to sit at the foot of the bed.

"I'm really tired." Caroline whispered, rubbing her cheek against the pillow, but finding the pressed material to be less comfortable than the pillow Klaus' chest had made so nicely.

"It must be hard, having _him_ here." She looked almost guilty, as if she felt she was the reason for the rogue hybrid's presence.

"No, I understand." Caroline replied. And she did. She'd always understood that it had to be her, that she was the expendable one. Everyone else was just too...valuable. Elena, for obvoius reasons. Damon and Stefan to protect her. Jeremy, he could see ghosts, and he was Elena's brother, so losing him would hurt her too much. Then Bonnie, the witch.

"Damon has been telling me that Klaus and you have gotten close." She was trying to keep her face expressionless. Caroline sighed, wondering what else Damon had said, and sat up.

"Mom-" She started even though she didn't know what she intended to say.

"Sweetie, I understand." They clasped hands. "I saw that way he looked at you, that night, when he save dyou." There was a thud downstairs, the hybrid attempting to loosen his bindings, though they had been specifically secured for him. Caroline flinched. "I think it would be best if you aren't here for this." She said.

"I can't leave you!"

"It's my job to protect you, not the other way around. And I'll be fine, sweetie. I can't watch every noise do this to you though." Her voice was soft and consoling. "Now go. I think you know where."

Caroilne looked to the suitcase she had deposited on the ground. She'd been too exhausted to bother unpacking the rest of the way, so she'd simply moved it and all its contents. Before she could over analyze things, she slipped out of bed.

Klaus kept drawing the same line over and over. The charcoal was thinning, yet he couldn't stop, the picture was just wrong. He'd been too anxious to draw with precision. The only lights in the house burned brightly in his studio. His fingers over the paper froze as he heard a car pulling up. He was already calmly making his way to the door when his visitor knocked. There, on the porched, stood Caroline, bags in hand.


	20. Chapter 20

**THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE. I HOPE THIS CHAPTER IS REWARD ENOUGH FOR IT. I WAS THILLED TO FINALLY BE ABLE TO WRITE ABOUT WHAT I HAVE WANTED FOR THIS COUPLE ALL ALONG. OF COURSE, THERE IS MORE TO COME, AND UP TO THIS POINT, IT HAS BEEN MAINLY FLUFF. THIS CHAPTER IS DEFINITELY MY FAVORITE SO FAR. YOU'LL SEE WHY.**

** AS ALWAYS, ENJOY AND REVIEW!**

Hours before, Klaus had slammed into his house, a deep growl emerging from his throat and shaking the house. That woman could be so obstinate! He had immediately hunted down a bottle of fine whiskey and hadn't even bothered to dig up a glass before taking his first swig. Unfortunately, the affect of alcohol had diminished over his long life span and it would require quite a bit more before he could feel even the slightest bit of change. He'd then marched to his studio, bottle in hand, and shrugged out of his coat. It landed on the floor, a patch of red stark against the black leather. Sighing, he retrieved Caroline's red thong from the pocket. His anger shifted, receded, until all he felt was a desperate sort of yearning.

This was not all together unfamiliar to Klaus. Caroline had been rejecting him for months, so he had come to be quite familiar with this sensation of wanting but never having. She was the only one ever allowed to deny him. If it had been anyone else, he would simply have taken what he wanted, compelled or threatened until he got his way, because he had simply always gotten his way. But she wasn't anyone else, she never had been. So he found himself constantly waiting for her.

He'd thought he'd had her, thought they'd made progress. Having her in his arms had been a bittersweet torture, like a dream he couldn't quite believe. Surely, she was playing with him again, set in distracting him. He let her do it to him time and again, because he simply didn't care as long as she was there with him. A fact he would prefer to not dwell on.

Having her arrive on his doorstep, bag in hand was not a scenario he had ever envisioned. He had thought that quite a bit more persuasion would be required. All that time ago he had warned her that she would come to him like this. He hadn't actually expected it to occur any time soon.

"So." She shifted her weight from foot to foot, desperately looking anywhere but at him. His infamous smirk was fixed in place as he leaned against the door. "Your offer still stand?" He regarded her coolly.

"Now, love, I daresay a little spat like can take some time to heal." He was playing and they both knew it.

"You got over our last spat pretty quickly." She pointed out dryly. He remembered that night. The first night she had served as his distraction, she'd come into the bar looking like she owned the place, and to his disgruntlement, acquired quite a bit of male attention in the process. He'd followed her, out of curiosity for this bright elusive creature, joking in a way no one had seen before. He had practically gotten hit by a car in the street so intent had he been on getting her attention.

"Indeed I did, love." He smiled. They stood in silence for a moment.

"You going to make me stand out here all night or what?" She demanded in exasperation. She didn't wait for him to respond but immediately brushed by him, and headed for his room. Curiously, eyebrows raised, he followed her through the art studio and into his room, where she carefully placed her bags beside the door. When she turned around again, he was watching her with that intense look, the one that said he wanted to know her intimately and in every way.

"Can I help you?" She said, crossing her arms under her breasts defensively, ignoring the tingling of her spine and the hairs that were rising on the back of her neck.

"I believe so." Leisurely, he came closer, his hands in his pockets. "In fact, I was hoping you could help me find the owner of these." He held up her underwear. Warmth rushed to her cheeks as she blushed, but refused to back down. "You see," He leaned nearer, and she could feel his breath on her lips, "I have plans to do some rather wicked things to the owner. I am, after all, the Original Hybrid, capable of unimaginable things."

She quite obviously wasn't breathing properly, her breaths were shallow and erratic, her skin overly sensitive so that even the rub of her shirt seemed too much. She met his eyes, those wide knowing eyes that seemed to be watching her and simply waiting for her to combust. Slowly, she uncrossed her arms, letting them drop to her sides. He certainly was wasting no time. Holding her gaze, he slid one hand along her side, then bunching the material of her blouse in his fingers, drawing it up over her smooth skin.

"Caroline." He murmured. "I am not going to stop this time." Her shirt was off, leaving her standing before him in her bra and jeans, and a pair of high heeled boots that made her forehead just level with his chin. "Unless you tell me to." His fingers worked their way around her back and were fiddling with the clasp to her black bra. Part of her acknowledged that she had worn that particular bra because she had hoped she'd end up like this with him. "Do you want me to?" He whispered. Wordlessly, she shook her head. His deftly unhooked the clasp at her back, drawing the straps down her arms.

This seduction was unlike any other she'd experienced. The others had been consumed with animal instinct, the need to mate and find release. There was no bonding in those experiences. Tyler was supposed to have been the love of her life, yet they had come together out of a mutual need. Being supernatural had made them desire sex. But she had never felt like they had made love despite all of the promises they had made to each other.

She'd been on fire for Klaus for days on end. His every touch had made her muscles jump. He would never know the nights she spent awake wondering what it would feel like to feel his hard weight poised above her, to have him inside of her. Tonight was about so much more, though. This was about her accepting that things had changed between them. For quite a while, she had been allowing moments to come as they would, and they had avoided discussing it or making any moves that might disrupt this fragile truce. Her being here, with him, was a declaration that she was accepting him.

As he reached for the button to her jeans, her lips met his with passion. With reverence, he stripped her of her remaining clothes and laid her back on his crisp and cool sheets. He dragged hot, open mouthed kisses across every inch of her white skin that he could find. They spent seconds, minutes, hours this way, learning each others' bodies in the dark of night. Her quiet gasps filled the room, and he continually uttered her name with a heavy accent and raw voice. When he finally positioned himself between her thighs, she wrapped her long legs around his waist, her hands tangled in his hair, and her lips pressed against his jaw and the bristly stubble growing there. Their love making was unhurried and gentle. He pushed deep inside of her, and moved slowly, both of them gasping as the delicious friction. She writhed against him, and he nuzzled into her neck, where her blonde hair now clung damply from her exertions. His pace had a fire burning within in, starting like a low ember in her deepest parts and spreading through her veins until she couldn't contain the soft mewls that escaped from her. She spread her hands along his glistening back, pressing into the skin there as he tended to that fire within with each thrust. Then the fire fully consumed her like a white hot flame licking across the surface of her body, inside and out, the intensity leaving her breathless. She felt Klaus shudder above her, finding his own release, before her own muscles finally relaxed after moments of glorious heat.

The afterglow had never been this good. She'd always left after this. But Klaus simply rolled to his side, taking her with him so she was lying half on top of him. He ran his fingers down the knobs of her spine, curling one blonde curl around the tip of his index finger ever so often. Her breathing returned to normal when his did, and she began to drift.

"Oh." She managed to murmur, her limbs feeling too heavy to possibly move. Klaus remained silent, but she sense that he would gloat later, once their bodies had returned to a semi-normal state of functioning. But smiled against the smooth skin of his chest, and went to sleep before that could happen.

**I TRIED TO CONVEY THE EXPERIENCE WITHOUT GOING INTO TOO MUCH DETAIL FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T WISH TO READ SUCH. I WANTED THE SENSATION TO SPEAK LOUDEST. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT. NATURALLY, AFTER THIS, THE COUPLE WILL BE MUCH CLOSER AND I HAVE MUCH IN MIND TO DEAL WITH THEIR NEW PHYSICAL CLOSENESS THAT I WILL ENJOY. IF THERE IS ANYTHING IN HERE THAT YOU THOUGHT WAS GOOD OR IF YOU WERE DISTRAUGHT BY ANY OF THIS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I WILL SAY I EXPECT TO BE WRITING SIMILAR SCENES, BUT I WANT TO WRITE THEM IN A WAY EVERYONE WILL LIKE. :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**I WAS IN LOVE WITH THAT LAST EPISODE! THEIR DATE WENT PERFECTLY I THOUGHT! I WISH I KNEW HOW SHE WILL TREAT HIM NOW. WILL SHE BE NICE TO HIM OR GO BACK TO BEING SNARKY? IF ONLY THEY HAD SHOWN THAT SEEN WITH HIM LEANING IN!**

**NOW IN MY VERSION, I HOPE WE ALL REMEMBER EXACTLY WHERE WE LEFT OFF. MY FAVORITE SCENES ARE ALWAYS THE MORNING AFTER KIND, SO EXPECT A FEW OF THOSE IN THE FUTURE. NOW WE ALL KNOW THEY ARE VERY DIFFERENT PEOPLE, BUT LET'S JUST SEE HOW THEY ADJUST TO EACH OTHER.**

**AS ALWAYS, ENJOY AND REVIEW!**

Caroline had never been so comfortable in her life. Her cheek was pressed to a soft pillow, arms flung out, and she was lying on her stomach, a smooth sheet down around her bare waist. Pulling her arms up to hug the pillow under her head, she let out an insensible murmur.

"Don't move, sweetheart." She felt a hand sweep down her back. Lazily, she opened her blue eyes.

"What are you doing?" She whispered. Klaus was gazing at her, a grin spread across his lips, an open sketchbook forgotten in his lap.

"My very favorite pastime." He wound one mussed curl around his finger. "Well, I suppose now it's my second favorite." This said with a deliberate glance down her half-covered body. She blushed but rolled her eyes, causing him to chuckle. He seemed to delight in making her blush, as a matter of fact. "Let me offer you breakfast." He murmured tenderly.

Dressed only in one of his shirts, she noticed he was fully dressed as he led her downstairs.

"What if one of your siblings sees us?" She whispered suddenly, clutching his hand. He allowed her to pull him the few steps back to her.

"Don't worry, love." He wrapped an arm around her waist and propelled her forward. "I'm sure they'll be good little boys and girls, and stay clear of us." He kept her near him, never losing physical contact. "Besides," He continued leading her into a kitchen that practically shined, "I'd hardly let one of my brothers see you thus without having to tear their livers out." As she began to pour blood into glasses, he pressed his lips to her neck, nuzzling into the tender skin. He pulled her into the living room, settling into the brown couch with her on his lap.

Caroline had barely taken a sip of her glass before she set it back down on the coffee table, nervous at this new tension between them. Klaus took a leisurely drink, watching her over the rim of his glass as if he were simply waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

"So…" She twisted the cuffs of the shirt she wore.

"Caroline." He cocked his head to one side, draping the fingers of one hand across her leg and clutching his drink in the other, resting against her side. "I make you nervous now, of all times?" He was smirking a little, but his eyes were serious. She scoffed, though she had to force it.

"Please. Like I can't handle you." She looked back at him, both of them grinning softly at each other, and she dropped her forehead to his. "Even if you are a billion or something." He chuckled and she joined him in the cozy closeness of the moment. The world just felt so warm and tender at that moment, like the bud of a flower.

"Well isn't this just adorable." That sarcastic female voice could only belong to one person. They both turned their heads to see Rebecka outlined in the doorway, all dressed and ready to go. "Really, Nik." She admonished, crossing her arms. Caroline stiffened in his lap.

"Good morning, sister." He replied with false good humor at her interruption.

"I leave you in peace for one night, and wake up to find this?" Klaus let Caroline slide from his lap before he stood and carefully set his drink down next to hers.

"Be careful, sister." He clasped his hands behind his back. "Be very careful. Remember who built this place, who lets you live, who protects you."

"You might as well bait the Hunter." A new voice entered the conversation, coming from behind them. Klaus momentarily closed his eyes in exasperation.

"Kol." He murmured without turning around.  
"Not that you aren't very fetching bait." The youngest brother continued in a jaunty way. "Especially in that get up." Caroline stood with her spine rigid, despite the total lack of modesty provided by the overly-large shirt of Klaus' she wore. "You and I should get to know one another." He suggested with a wink.

"Dream on." She replied crisply, folding her arms under her breasts even as Klaus was glowering over her shoulder.

"Leave, brother. Now." He ground out.

"And get staked by the Hunter? I think not." Kol replied. It was time that Caroline employ every single bit of Miss Mystic Falls elegance and poise that she had developed, resolve the situation and remove the awkwardness.

"If you'll excuse me." She announced, calmly making her way to the door, past The Evil Blood Slut commonly known as Rebecka, and up the stairs to Klaus' bedroom. Shutting the door, she congratulated herself on a clean get away. She noticed Klaus' sketchbook was left open on the bed, amidst the disarray they'd made of the sheets.

It was her, that much she could tell from even this far away. Her, bathed in the golden glow of early morning as she slept with no covering above her waist. Her hair looked wanton, her cheeks smooth. Above all, she looked…..cherished. Taking a chance, she flipped back another few pages, and again was met by her own gaze in charcoal. Her, laughing, smiling, serious, disgusted, trusting, teasing. She could only conclude that drawing her was indeed his favorite pastime. Well, she glanced back at the bed, which seemed to have been hit by a force of nature during the night judging by the chaos. Drawing her could be his second now, if last night was any indication of his now first favorite.

A barely audible hum filled the room. She searched out her phone, vibrating in the pocket of her discarded jeans. Elena's name flashed across the screen, along with the sign for a new text message.

_I made a choice. I'm worried it's the wrong one._

Was all Elena's message said. Caroline's jaw dropped open. Finally! She had been sure this fight would go on for the rest of Elena's life at this rate.

_I'm coming! We need to spill, girl._

She replied quickly before tossing her phone on the bed and making her way into Klaus' bathroom, which was ridiculously immaculate and large. She glanced at the sunken tub, then at the clock on the counter. Obviously, her friend was in crisis, but a hot bath seemed like perfection. Shaking her head, she stepped up to the shower tucked into the corner, a miniature room itself. Twisting a few knobs, she got the water heating up before she grabbed her brush from the suitcase in his room, brushing out the tangled mass of her blonde hair.

The shower was heavenly too, though cut far too short. Hot water was in abundance, and she simply stood there, soaking it all in. Sighing with reluctance after almost half an hour, she shut the water off and stepped out into the steamy bathroom, only to nearly fall back inside at the sight of Klaus, leaning against the counter facing her. She snatched up a towel next to her, holding it in front of her body like a shield.

"What are you doing?" She hissed, more surprised than anything. He merely raised a brow as if the question was ridiculous. Which, she had to admit privately to herself, it sort of was. After all, she had slept with the man several times and now made love with him. "Do you have any sense of privacy?" She questioned tartly, wrapping the fluffy towel completely around her still wet body, though all the argument had gone out of her. He smiled, as if he knew that he had already won and that she was just being herself, Caroline with smart remarks.

"There is privacy. And there is intimacy, love." He came closer, placing his hands on either side of her waist and pulling her flush against his body. "Between us, there will be nothing but intimacy." Quite honestly, he wanted to know every detail about her. What she looked like when she slept or came out of the shower. Her thoughts, hopes, dreams. If that left no room for privacy, so be it.

It was obvious to Caroline that Klaus had other things on his mind than having any sort of discussion at the moment, judging by the way he was moving his lips down her neck to her shoulder and then nibbling at her earlobe. "I need to go." She murmured, holding onto him for balance as she suddenly found her knees to be rather weak. He drew back as if puzzled. "Lunch date with Elena." She explained only to see his expression harden, his hands dropping away from her sides.  
"No." He said, striding back into the bedroom as if the conversation was finished. She stood frozen for a moment, replaying that in her mind. No?

**NOW, AFTER LAST CHAPTER WAS POSTED, I'M SO GLAD YOU ALL LIKED THE WAY I DID THAT, I REACHED 96 REVIEWS! YAY! WE ARE SO CLOSE TO 100. SO, I AM GOING TO OFFER A RATHER SILLY LITTLE GAME. LET'S GET OVER 100 WITH THIS CHAPTER. THE 100TH REVIEWER CAN ASK ME ANY SPOILER QUESTION. I WILL SEND THEM THE ANSWER VIA PRIVATE MESSAGING. JUST POST THE QUESTION IN THE REVIEWS. IF YOU DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS, THEN JUST REVIEW AS YOU WOULD LIKE, ANY COMMENT OR CRITIQUE, AND I WILL NOT SPOIL IT FOR YOU. :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**I KNOW, I KNOW. IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO UPDATE. MY APOLOGIES. ALSO, THE 100TH REVIEWER DEFINITELY NEVER ASKED ME ANY QUESTION, SO I'M GOING TO OPEN IT UP. ANYONE CAN ASK ME ANY QUESTION THEY WOULD LIKE. THIS IS FOR THIS CHAPTER ONLY REVIEWS, HOWEVER. I WON'T LIE, I DON'T KNOW COMPLETELY WHAT ALL IS GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT I DO KNOW MOST OF MY KLAROLINE FUTURE :)**

**AS ALWAYS, ENJOY & REVIEW!**

As Caroline saw it, she had two options. Hr first instinct was to march in, cross her arms, and glare at the man incredulously. She had stood her groun with him before certainly. Then again, all previous arguments had usually been in regards to making him leave her alone, and that had not ended as she had originally hoped. Thankfully, she'd been wrong then, but still left her believing her argument skills left him less than convinced generally.

Which meant going with the second, slightly riskier option. Steeling her jaw, she wetn to blindside him.

Klaus was sitting on the bed, flipping through his sketches of her. She had no doubt he was preparing to add the picture she must have made coming out of the shower. His gaze flickered to her, darkening as she approached slowly. Se settled on the be beside him, looking at him under her lashes. Shifting, she pressed her body along his side, her lips meeting his neck. the slightest sigh whispered from his lips, eyes fluttering closed. When they opened again, they were blistering.

"I now what you're doing." He growled, his hands coming to rest on her toweled hips as she smoothly slid into his lap, straddling his thighs.

"What am I doing?" She asked innocently, linking her fingers behind his neck.

"Caroline, you've been my distraction before." That didn't stop him from clutching her closer, running his mouth acros the smooth skin of her shoulder.

"I'm not distracting you." She murmured. "I'm convincing you." He pulled back enough to raise one brow, not the least bit deterred by tha fact.

"Interesting approach, one I certainly enjoy. Not going to work though, love, you're not going anywhere. Now then..." Caroline sat back.

"I am going to see Elena." She said calmly, standing up. Klaus fell back on the bed.

"And we were having such a good time." He lamented. "Come on, love, come back to bed." He leaned up on one elbow, patting the mattress invitingly. She crossed her arms, resisting the urge to give in. Option one it was going to be it seemed, despite the fact the second option would have left them both much more satisfied.

"I need to get dressed." She said weakly. His face, light with playfullness, abruptly darkned into a scowl that used to mean death.

"We've already discussed this."

"No, we haven't. You just dictated like some alpha male."

"I am the alpha male." He remided her grimly. "And it's best you not forget that." She scoffed

"So now you're threatening me? Wow." She went back into teh bathroom, locking the door behind her, though she was under no illusion that it would stop him if he were really determined to come in after her. When she emered, hair dry and make-up done, he was gone. As far as she coudl tell, he wasn't even in the house. Anger brimming, she made her way out of the house, pleased that no one stopped her. Was he going to go running everytime he didn't get his way? Truth be told, she didn't even understand why he was being so difficult about the situation. In her mind, all the could think was this was his weird way of making sure she remained with him. He couldn't dagger her like he could his siblings, nor did he have a freaky hybrid bond with her, so perhaps he figured that if she stayed in, she wouldn't betray him. Which was ridiculous!

Elena met her in front of the grill, looking human and worried. Sometimes it physically hurt to look at her friend, still living, human despite her place in the center of the supernatural. They hugged and went inside. Caroline was immediately met by a pair of stony blue eyes. She could only roll her eyes and purposely ignore Klaus as they made their way across the room, his eyes trained on her back.

"So." She settled into a booth. Unfortunately, klaus was quite visible at the bar from her seat and she more than a little distracted. "Let's talk Salvatores." Elena glanced over her shoulder, seeing Klaus raise his glass to them.

"I'm not sure I can talk here." She murmured. Caroline looked confused.

"Stop stalling and tell me." She said, completely at a loss as to why Elena felt so secretive. Her relationships with the brothers weren't exactly covert.

"I can't give Klaus any ammunition to use against us." Elena whispered, although Klaus could clearly hear them if he so chose, and shook her head. Caroline sat back, nonplussed and shocked.

"Elena, I thought you knew." She hesitated and her friend withdrew, watching her suspiciously. "Klaus and I-" Elena understood immediately.

"How can you trust him?" She hissed, standing. "Hasn't he hurt us enough?" She swept out, and Caroline quickly followed, brushing by Klaus, who was regarding her with what seemed to be surprise on his face as well. Seriously? She didn't want to even think about the fact that he had heard every word, or that fact that she had practically admitted to her best friend that he had come to mean so much.

"Elena, wait." She made it outisde, and stopped short. "Tyler." Was all she could manage, however, when she came face to face with her ex. She hoped the irritating alpha male inside was still his over-possessive self and would hear her and the suspcions laced in her voice with that single word.

**I WASN'T SURE HOW I FELT ABOUT THIS CHAPTER, BUT DECIDED TO PUT IT UP ANYWAY. A LOT OF KLAUS' ACTIONS WILL BE EXPLAINED IN FUTURE CHAPTERS, HOWEVER, IF THAT HELPS.**


	23. Chapter 23

**AS ALWAYS, ENJOY AND REVIEW!**

Caroline's gaze switched to Elena, the human, the fragile, beautiful girl who simply had to be considered first. Except her friend wasn't regarding Tyler with suspicion or concern, though he certainly warranted it after attacking them at the Grill and siding with Alaric. "Elena?" She murmured uncertainly.

"I'm doing this for you." She replied, her brow creased with worry. Tyler stepped forward, taking Caroline's hand before she could snatch it away.

"She called me, Caroline. You're with Klaus now?" She couldn't help but flinch at the accusation in his voice. "We're meant to be together. Us. Not you and the killer." His voice was rising and she tugged on her hand. His grip was iron hard, beginning to bruise her delicate bones as he stared at her as if he'd never seen her before. Elena simply stood back, her arms wrapped around her delicate frame, sympathy floating in her gaze. So this was the plan.

This was the plan her friends had concocted as a means to yank her out of the clutches of Klaus, the Original Hybrid. Tyler loved her, would always love her. As she would him. But the feel of his skin against hers felt wrong, mostly because the contact made her feel…nothing. There was no spark, no rush of pleasure. But Elena had lured her out so that Tyler could worm his way back into her life, so she would what? Align herself as if this was some pitiful fight they were gathering allies for? Wasn't Klaus on their side this time?

"I suggest you take your paws off my girl, mutt." The sound of Klaus' accent wasn't exactly a surprise. It sent a cold shiver through the air, however. His usual impassiveness was gone, replaced by a look that communicated certain and painful death. Caroline kept her gaze fixed on Tyler's face, the harsh jaw and the stark cheekbones as he turned to regard Klaus, who stood behind her a few feet.

"I think you mean my girl." He responded, his dark eyes daring Klaus as he purposely wound his fingers together with Caroline's limp ones. She scoffed and attempted once again to pull away, but in vain.

"As if." She seethed. There was a blur, a rush of wind, and Tyler's grip on her was gone, as was he. Klaus held him by the throat against the brick of the building.

"You've aligned yourself with the hunter, mate. How very unwise. What could he want with sweet Caroline, I wonder?"

"He came because I asked." Elena exclaimed. "This has nothing to do with Alaric."

"I came," Tyler stopped to gather what little air he could, "to save Caroline from _you_." There was an unholy light in Klaus' eyes as he watched the boy pass out with a crushed windpipe. He turned to Caroline, and she all but drowned in his eyes, her body practically alight in response to his.

They left Elena standing alone in the street, speeding into the mansion within seconds. Before Caroline could gasp, her back was to the rough wood of the bedroom door, and there were hungry lips paying homage to her throat where her pulse raced. Klaus' hips grinded into hers as she helped him discard his shirt, allowing it to fall to the floor in a heap along with hers.

"Tell me." He growled, ripping her away from the door and onto the bed, her jeans disappearing in the process.

"What?" She gasped. Klaus let his full weight rest on her a moment, bearing her down into the mattress, her hair pure gold against the sheets.

"Tell me you're mine." She could feel him, poised to enter her yet restraining himself with rigid control. "Mine." He repeated. Gone was the gentle, playful Klaus, or even the murderous one. This Klaus was the man who had lived centuries taking what he desired with no mercy or consequence, and doing so with precision and patience. It was exhilarating to be the one unraveling him to such an extent.

"Klaus." She moaned, slipping her hands along his shoulders, his arms.

"Tell _me_." He inched until he was positioned just inside of her, so that she could feel every movement but be far from satisfied by it.

"I-I need you." He took her hands, wrapping them around the headboard of the bed, locking them there with his own. "Please….I'm….I'm yours." He filled her with a harsh, deep thrust.

They were the last words to be uttered for quite some time as he used her body to oblivion. It was a dark, twisted sort of claiming, as if his feeling for her had been ripped from his unwilling soul. Though he had accepted this enchantment with her, there was a dark part of his heart that yearned to possess her as well, and it was this part of him that was finally given reign, as if he could mark her as his own by this.

Caroline felt as though she had been taken apart and reassembled. Her limbs were pure liquid, refusing to move even after Klaus rolled off to his side, one arm still draped possessively about her waist. She was still gasping, her thoughts shattered.

"Caroline, I…" Klaus paused, and she was pleased to note that his breathing still irregular.

"Wow." Was all she could manage besides a weak smile. "Just, wow." Her head lolled to one side to find him regarding her with one raised brow. "Now _that_ was truly hot vampire-hybrid sex." She giggled, even though the entire scenario seemed wrong. One did not simply giggle after something so mind-blowing.

"That," He leaned over to nip at her ear, "is how supernatural sex is done properly." She sighed as he began a leisurely project of kissing every inch of her face, starting with her parted lips. Once her mouth was no longer occupied by his tongue, she found her voice again.

"Did you know? Is that why you didn't want me to see Elena?" she asked. He sighed, and put a bit more space between them, though their bodies were still intimately intertwined.

"I did not know."

"Then why-"

"Because I can't protect you if you're not with me. And you, love, may find yourself to be quite a favorite new toy for my enemies." He said it lightly, but his tone did not match his expression. She attempted to sit up, but his arm tensed and held her by his side. "They can't have you." She wasn't sure if he was saying this to her, or if he hadn't even met to speak aloud. So she simply put her head back to his shoulder, letting his arms come around her, surely the safest place in the world for her.


	24. Chapter 24

**THIS IS FLUFF. PURE KLAROLINE FLUFF. AND SHORT. FOR THAT I APOLOGIZE. BUT FOR SOME REASON I AM SIMPLY BLOCKED. I HAD HOPED TO UPDATE MORE OFTEN, BUT FOR SOME REASON THAT ISN'T REALLY COMING TO ME. SO HERE IS WHAT I'VE HAD WRITTEN FOR QUITE A FEW DAYS. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ELSE TO DO WITH IT AND COULDN'T SO I THOUGHT I'D JUST POST THIS.**

**AS ALWAYS, ENJOY AND REVIEW!**

A beam of sunlight shone against Caroline's eyelids, earning an irritated moan, and a half hearted attempt to snuggled back into the dark oblivion of her sleep, where dreams mingled with the anchor of reality that was Klaus' solid form beside her. She curled against his side, his bare skin hot against hers. Then it occurred to her that there should not be so much sunlight in the room. Anxiety flooded her into wakefulness, so she quickly rolled back to her side of the bed to reach for her phone. The cobwebs of sleep had long since cleared from her mind when she read the time from the screen.

"I am so late!" She screeched, scrambling to get up but trapped by the sheets around her long legs. Klaus' hand came from behind her, engulfing hers and the phone in a firm grip as he too checked the time.

"So you are. Oh well. No point in even going now." He murmured, dropping his hand to drape across her stomach and lightly sucking at the skin of her shoulder.

"I have to go to school!" She ground out, rolling her eyes. She attempted to dislodge him, but only ended up being pressed more firmly into the mattress on her stomach with his full weight behind her. "Stop it." She said, except it came out on a giggle as his lips found a particularly sensitive spot. "School. I'm the head cheerleader. I can't just miss school."

"Oh, cheerleaders are notorious for missing school." He corrected her. "And for being particularly flexible, if I'm not mistaken." And of course, he was Klaus, so being wrong wasn't even an option.

Sometime later that day, they managed to drag themselves out of bed and into the shower, which took twice as long as it should've as he insisted on sharing. Finally dressed, Caroline elected to remain there instead of school seeing as she had already missed most of the day anyway. Also, there was the possibility of Tyler showing up and she was not prepared to deal with him without the support of Klaus with her.

For the first time in a long time, Caroline Forbes was going to be a normal teenager who ditched school simply to watch some TV. Of course, most teenagers didn't spend much quality time with the world's most dangerous being. The irony was irresistible, so she settled in to watch a marathon of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. Klaus settled back on the couch with one eyebrow raised in amusement and his arm slung along the back. She threw him a look that dared him to make a comment on her selection.

She was cringing half way through the first episode. At first, it had been all romantic sighs over the forever suffering Angel, tortured by his love for the bright light that was Buffy. Until that bright light was cheerfully staking vampires right and left.

"Is it really like that?" She gulped as yet another vampire bit the dust, or was more turned into it at any rate.

"What, love?" Klaus questioned, having long ago tuned out of what was happening on screen to the more pleasurable thoughts in his mind centering on the young woman beside him.

"When a vampire dies…I've never seen it." Her eyes took on a vacant look that had him grasping her hand.

"No, we don't just turn to dust." His gaze flicked to the television. "Our body remains, if slightly worse for the wear." She glanced down at their joined hands. Hands that had seen so much pain, so much torture, but never showed a scar.

"Our souls?" She voiced the question she'd never been able to broach with any other vampire for fear of the answer. His gaze remained locked on hers for a number of drawn out moments, measurable in the space of a single breath, but seeming to take an eternity.

"I spent quite a bit of my life believing that I had been robbed of my soul." He said at last, his voice level and husky. "My father had taken a sword, and when my blood ran, my very essence seeped out with it. I've lived with that knowledge, and was trapped in the dark truth of it, for generations." She caught her breath, wide eyes struggling to see past the shaded picture he had just created with his words. "Now, I find myself at a loss, immersed in an indescribable light. I must question how my soul, if it had been intact, could have survived all the things I have done, how it could it not wither. For you, Caroline, it seems to have been holding onto life for the single hope of ever meeting you. All for you. I must believe that my soul found haven in the light of yours." Tenderly, he pressed his lips to the back of her slender hand.

**I AM ACTUALLY QUITE PLEASED WITH THIS LITTLE CHAT THAT THEY HAVE, THINKING IT QUITE BEAUTIFUL. I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT. NOW I HAVE A REQUEST TO MAKE OF YOU. GIVE ME SOME IDEAS! WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE WRITTEN IN? PERHAPS THAT WOULD UNLOCK MY BRAIN ENOUGH FOR CONTINUED UPDATES.**


	25. Chapter 25

**AS ALWAYS, ENJOY & REVIEW!**

Having been drug into the school that once by Damon, Caroline managed to motivate herself into attendance. Her grades were average, as was to be expected. To retain her position as head cheerleader, she would have to work to at least keep that way. To satisfy her own mother, however, they would have to improve greatly. To her consternation, art class was the lowest. Quite frankly, she was of the firm opinion that art should be graded on effort and not actual talent, because she did not possess one iota of artistic talent. This seemed to put her in the minority, as an unusually large number of her friends did. Jeremy came to mind, and Klaus naturally. Even Tyler was quite talented, though he rarely drew since his father's death. Put quite simply, if Caroline was to pass the class, she would have to take home the drawing that had been sitting in the classroom for weeks and turn it into a master piece over the winter break.

Her drawing shoved into an abnormally large portfolio – the types that are seen only in the hands of the seriously dedicated, or desperate in her case – Caroline drove home in dread. The mansion seemed serene, yet she sighed on getting out. Leaving the portfolio, she trudged in through the front door.

"Hello?" She called out, listening for any sound other than that of her own breathing. "Klaus?" Beautiful silence greeted her. She scrambled back to her car, yanking out the offending portfolio, and dashing back into house. By the time she'd made it upstairs, there were the definite sounds of tires crunching the gravel outside, a car pulling into the driveway beside hers. She stashed her drawing under the bed, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself.

"Caroline." Klaus' voice carried up the stairs.

"I'm up here." She replied, sitting down on the bed casually and pulling a magazine into her lap.

"Ah. Hello, love." He stopped in the doorway, taking the time to admire the sight of her on his bed, framed in the sunlight.

"Hi." She smiled brightly. "So what did you do today?"

"Waited for you to return, of course." Only then did he come forward, leaning in to press his lips against the smooth skin of her forehead. "I'm afraid I have some bad news." Caroline nodded, forcing herself to keep his level gaze rather than glance down where his foot was precariously close to the edge of the portfolio. "There have been some developments that I must see to in New Orleans."

"Alaric?" Her voice hitched.

"No." He idly rubbed a lock of her hair with his fingers. "Just old business with some old friends."

"You have friends?" She couldn't resist the jab. His eyes flicked back to her, humor sparked in their depths.

"Friends serve many purposes, Caroline. Marcel in particular."

"Who is-"

"No one you need ever meet." He stepped back. "I must pack to travel immediately, but I dare say I won't be gone long." She jumped up, blocking him from reaching under the bed for his stored suitcase.

"I'll help." She got it herself, breathing a sigh of relief when he merely chuckled a bit at her enthusiasm.

"I see you are excited to be rid of me at last." The dry tone of his voice couldn't mask the question behind his words.

"Oh no. I'll miss you so much."

"You could come." He suggested quietly. A shot of yearning shot through her, but the toes of her boot brushed against her hidden picture, reminding her.

"I think I should stay here, for Elena and everybody, you know?" And for school, which really had been paling in comparison to everything else lately. He nodded, a pleasant mask firmly fixed on his face while he allowed the weakness of wondering what she was so earnestly hiding from him that required his absence.

Klaus was gone by nightfall, which allowed Caroline to sneak into his studio. The variety of supplies had her feeling faint. Paint? Charcoal? Graphite? Seriously, where were just the normal pencils? Setting her paper up on a propped up table, she opened drawers at random, surprised by the meticulous order to them. Then again, Klaus was an artist, therefore he would be the kind to take special care with them. She stopped, groaning as she dropped her head into her hands, fervently hoping Klaus never discovered how truly _not _artistic she was. How embarrassing would that be?

The door crashed open behind her. Startled, she whipped around, sending the supplies behind her flying.

"You seem to be looking for something, love." Klaus' voice was cold, his lips set in a harsh, angry manner. Her mouth could only drop open.

"Why aren't you in Louisiana?" She managed to ask, inching towards her drawing as if she could block his vision from it. He ignored her question, his eyes searching the room, and the mess she'd made.

"Quite the ransack. I must wonder what you could be looking for, in here of all places." He continued. "You've had the run of the house for quite a while now though, so perhaps you've looked everywhere else, is that right?"

"What are you talking about?" She rubbed at her forehead, at a complete loss.

"Is that why you're here?" He hissed, anger suddenly very evident in his voice. "You're friends once again set you up as my distraction so you could find something within my house? What is it? The white oak stake?" His suspicions had her falling back a step.

"You think I'd sleep with you just for some stupid stake?" She exclaimed. "I may not be Elena, and I may not always be everyone's first choice, but I sure as hell thought you – I thought that maybe you and I –" Cutting herself off, she raked a hand through her hair, willing away the tears.

"Tears won't convince me." He laughed humorously. "I've made it quite easy for you, you know. Like a naïve fool, I let you into my home. Into my soul. You are quite the actress. I was completely convinced until you gave it all away, so obviously hiding something from me. You know how I despise mysteries, Caroline. And now I find you like this, having gotten me out of the way for some time, or so you thought. If I hadn't suspected you, I daresay I would be long gone and unaware of your little games."

"All I wanted was a pencil." She murmured. "A stupid pencil to draw this stupid picture. But you couldn't know. I'm just not good enough. And you couldn't know that. I didn't want you to see." Her rambling went on, as she was prone to do when anxious. His stance changed, the hardened posture falling away as hope dawned.

"Drawing?" He repeated, his attention drawn by a careless wave of her hand. On his sketching table set a pristine piece of white paper that had been ruthlessly marred by countless attempted to create a tree and the even more numerous attempts at erasing. "You were hiding a drawing?"

"What do you care?" She said, abruptly turning back to jam the spilled supplies back into their drawers at random.

"What were you drawing?" He questioned.

"You know very well that it's a tree!" She spun back, both hands on her hips. Idly, Klaus picked up a nearby charcoal stick, dragging it across the paper lazily. "What-what are you doing?" She tried to sound demanding, intimidating, but it came out as a question anyway.

"Come here, love." Calmer now and without looking up, he drew her to stand in front of him. He wrapped her fingers around the charcoal then placed his palm along the back of her hand. Their linked hands flicked across the paper, the swept across as the branches became a reality.

"I drew a tree." She murmured, a slight smile in her voice. Resting his chin on her shoulder, Klaus eyed the drawing dubiously. It lacked a certain creativity or any real detail, but it was mostly definitely a tree.

Rather than say anything, he dropped a kiss on the side of her head before stepping back and wondering into the bedroom. She sighed. That was his way of apologizing, of letting her know that he trusted her to not go ransacking the house while he was absent. This way, he just didn't have to actually admit it out loud. Impatiently, she flicked her wrist, wincing when the charcoal stopped cooperating without his touch to steady it.


End file.
